An Occupational Hazard
by Kalkoenvsneoklak
Summary: In a world where Vikings and Dragons live together, Dean Winchester, heir of Jacht, finds a young Viking boy that has been raised by dragons. Together they built up a strong friendship, and maybe even more. What could possibly go wrong?


The day the Dragon Academy finally stands is the day most of the teenagers of Jacht temporarily leave the tribe to learn how to train their own dragon. The Academy is located on an island a little further from Jacht, hidden between the mountaintops and surrounded by forests. The students arrive by boat, receiving a tour and then go on their way to the hatchery to hoose their own dragon. Well, choose might be a strong word; a dragon would present her egg to a Viking who they deem worthy. So, there's not much choosing to do on the teenager's part. They all realize that, whatever dragon they get will be their companion for life.

Dean feels quite proud about the Academy. In the six years since he befriended Impala they've build up this whole place from scratch, and just knowing that now all his knowledge about dragons can be shared makes his chest feel warm inside.

Despite Dean being the first Dragon Trainer ever, he finds that after a few months since the Academy's opening he's still a student. Okay, yeah, so he gives a very few classes now and then to pass on his wisdom about the secrets a Dragon could have, but his training still continues.

While the newer students learn about befriending their Dragons, Dean's team learns about survival, about battle techniques, anything else a Viking might need to learn. His peers love the class, and Dean must admit that he has no complaints either; Rufus is a good teacher – not as good as Bobby back at Jacht in Dean's opinion, but he comes close.

Then, one day, Dean's life comes to another change. It starts right after practice, when he and his friends walk out of the arena, followed by their Dragons.

"Man, I really can't wait for us to go to the actual wild!" Jo says, readjusting her helmet on her head, smirking up at everybody.

"What, you've never been to a forest before?" Dean's younger brother asks. Sam is a seventeen year old Viking with more wisdom than anybody else. He's catching up quickly on everything Dean knows, and has even invented a few more hypothesizes that he wants to check out on the moment he can. His dragon is Fireball, a grey Monstrous Nightmare with quite a sense of overprotectiveness.

"Shut up, Winchester," Jo bites back, hitting his arm with full force, causing Sam to take a few steps back and groan in pain. Jo smirks playfully. "Wussy," she whispers when she's walking next to Dean again. Then she stands still, eyeing Dean from head to toe with a raised eyebrow. Uncomfortably, Dean stops walking as well, holding up his arms in question. Jo turns to Charlie, pointing at the son of the Chief.

"Wow, that's quite some gear you're wearing there," Charlie says, whistling as they finally realize the flight suit Dean has been building for himself. It contains everything he needs, from pockets for his knives and swords to a compass attached to his left wrist. In his hand he's been carrying a helmet, and it surprises him they actually noticed just now.

"Well, while you've all been goofing off, I've been busy exploring the seas," Dean says defensively, crossing his arms to protect himself from the stares he's receiving. Okay, yeah, in comparison to Jo's simple clothing (a light brown shirt with more stitches to it than actual fabric, a leather skirt that has been ripped shorter and shorter with every practice, and faded black trousers, completed with the usual warm boots Vikings always wear) he's really standing out.

"Exploring? I'm pretty sure your father isn't a fan of that?" Charlie asks, and Dean knows it's true; his father has been complaining about Dean's urge to just get out there and fly constantly. The young Viking never really stays to listen to any reasons why he's so against it, but he's sure it has something to do with his task as the next chief of Jacht.

As they start walking again, Dean decides to just drop the conversation. He gives Impala one big tickle in the neck before turning around to follow his friends. Impala, as loyal as she is, always follows him anyway. She keeps her head up, following his speed as they keep on walking behind.

"What do you say about it, girl? Wanna ditch these guys and explore a little bit more?" he asks, resting his hand on her head. The Dragon looks at him with her big eyes, not offering any answer.

Dean never really gets the chance to get on Impala before his name is shouted again. By hearing the voice, his friends turn as well, all of them seeing Chief John Winchester descend from his massive green Tracker Dragon. Shoulders slumped, Dean rolls his eyes, standing still as his father comes closer.

"I need to speak to you, son," his father said, voice serious as always. He stands tall and proud, dressed up in pieces of a metallic armor he once stole from a pirate during a fight. He takes off his helmet, and presses a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Okay, shoot," Dean says after a moment of silence. He hates it when his father looks at him like that. It means that he's going to tell something the Chief thinks Dean will like, while in fact he never does. John never really learns…

"Okay, well, son I've been thinking," he starts, eyes reaching up and only then noticing the audience he has. He coughs in frustration, causing the teens to startle and walk a little further away. Well, except for Sam, who comes closer instead to join his brother and father in the conversation.

"You've done so many wonderful things for Jacht lately," he starts, removing the hand from Dean's shoulder. This man likes to walk while talking, and Dean doesn't mind that in the slightest. "You came up with the idea for this academy, you helped us train our own dragons, you made it possible for us to live with them. To put it shortly, you made life on Jacht much better at such a young age."

Dean doesn't like where this is going. He doesn't like it in the least. Sam raises an eyebrow at him, obviously not on the same wavelength as Dean.

When John turns his back to Dean to walk to his Dragon, Groundhunter, he continues talking. "Let's be honest, I'm not the youngest anymore, and lately we've been listening to you rather than me, so I think it's time for me to retire and make you the new chief."

Dean doesn't stay to give his opinion. While John's back is still turned, Dean gets on Impala at such a speed that Sam only notices it when he's halfway in the air. He knows he's in serious trouble when he hears the Chief calling out his name, but he doesn't care. Not a single bit.

Flying sometimes helps him clear his mind, but in this case, passing through the clouds and dropping until they're just above the water doesn't help a single bit. Why would his father suddenly decide to make him chief? Why would he retire? Is he dying? No, that's crazy. His old man only lost his mind probably. John Winchester retiring? His hair is barely greying, and he's still as strong as he's ever been.

Dean grabs his hair as he thinks, pulling them in frustration as he shouts it out. Impala's ears lift at the sudden sound, but she doesn't stop flying. They get up higher again as they approach an island Dean's passed by a few times. He's never really landed there, just in case another tribe lives there and would capture him.

Dean frees his legs from the saddle and drops back on Impala's back, looking at the sky, the clouds passing by.

Did his father really have to do that in front of his friends? In front of Sammy? He knows he's up for endless teasing from Jo now; because he fled instead of accepting what is expected of him.

His thoughts are cut short as he hears something rustling coming closer. He tilts his head just in time to see a net flying in on him, and then he's thrown off of Impala's back as she's captured. Both of them are falling into the forest, and Dean can see the panic in Impala's eyes as she dives down even faster. Dean then fumbles around with his flight suit, attaching the stuff to his arms with trembling hands, and when they're in place he spreads his arms, letting the 'wings' he created for himself carry him down. Of course he's surrounded by trees, so his drop is still more of a crash, but at least he's not in a chance to get seriously injured. When Dean approaches a tree, he thanks the Gods that he's wearing his flight gloves, and he reaches out for the tree, intending to slow down his fall.

The bark of the tree still burns hot through his gloves, though, and eventually he lets go as he falls on a branch, trying to catch on to that.

In the end, he falls face down on a thick branch, and his breath is pushed right out of his lungs. With a loud groan of pain, he tries to scramble upright, pushing himself up with his arms and then looking down.

"That'll be climbing down," he mutters to himself as he gets ready to get on a lower branch, hands still holding on the bark of the tree.

Once he's finally down he tries first to catch his breath and to will his heart to go slower. He can feel it beat in his head and he knows that isn't okay. The he detaches the flaps he used to glide down, and rolls them back up in his pants, securing them again after making sure they aren't ripped or damaged.

Then he looks around, finding that Impala isn't anywhere near him. As the realization drops in, he feels himself becoming heavy. She threw him off her back to keep him safe, knowing that he could glide back to safety. She probably thought they would never see each other again.

"Impala?!" Dean shouts into the nothingness of the wild, and he hears nothing but birds in return. But that's something he's learned from when he first met Impala; the birds never chirp in the presence of Dragons.

So he starts walking to where he thinks the birds are the quietest. He lifts branches, crawls through a bush and crosses a very strong river, until he notices the lack of presence of the birds. **I must be close,** he thinks to himself as he looks up again.

"Impala?!" he shouts one more time, voice almost hoarse from screaming for what must be half an hour. This time, though, he hears a growl in return. No, not just a growl, but a sound that kind of appears pained. It comes from his left, so he turns into that direction immediately, finally finding Impala behind a massive bush. She's stuck in a net – much like how she was when Dean found her that first time, Dean realizes – and her breathing is heavy, almost panicked. When she sees Dean approach from the corner of her eyesight, she seems to cheer up, making a sound of happiness at his presence.

"Impala!" Dean shouts, running straight to her and checking out the ropes that bind her in this hurting position. "Don't worry baby, I'll get you out of here," he promises her as he takes out a knife and starts cutting the ropes, cursing the smallness of the weapon he carries.

He's so focused on freeing Impala that Dean doesn't hear the footsteps from another person behind him. It's only when he's getting started on the last piece that Dean gets grabbed by the collar of his suit and thrown against a rock. He hits it with his head first, and he bites his lower lip in the process, cursing silently as his vision slowly returns. Only when that happens, he finds that there's a knife pressed against his throat.

When Dean looks at his attacker he sees nothing more than a creepy mask. The thing is made of wood and painted with bright colors. The person wearing the mask – Dean can't tell yet if it's a boy or a girl – has a thick hood around their neck and is wearing a thick animal pelt to keep warm. Dean also sees that it's not a knife against his neck, but some sort of sharp staff. Still, he finds it safer not to move.

"**Oiad Niiso**," the person hisses, obviously in a language Dean doesn't understand. Dean tries to swallow nervously as the weapon is pressed against his Adams apple. "**Elasa bolape ge aschaniis.**"

"Listen man, I don't understand a single thing of what you're saying," Dean mutters, raising his hands in surrender as he begins to get the creeps from the mask. The man – because this person's voice is obviously male – pulls back his weapon for a tiny bit, but then actually growls as he comes closer to Dean.

"**Conisa ge niis**," the man bites again, and just when he's about to get his face – or mask – right next to Dean's, Impala manages to free herself, having bitten through the last piece of the net. She pushes the man away, and jumps in front of Dean, who scrambles up right.

In the action, the mask of the man has fallen off, and now Dean can see the face of a young adult. He has long wild brown hair, and serious but big eyes. From this distance, Dean can't really make out the color. The stranger has dark stubble growing, and on the right side on his face he has four dark stripes of face-paint; almost looking like scars. The lines go from his cheekbones to his forehead, passing his eyes.

But the most striking thing about this boy is that he isn't any older than Dean is. And he seems scared at Impala's sudden interference.

Dean puts his hands on Impala's head to keep her down and relaxed. She's still growling, and this really isn't helping any of them at all. Whoever this boy is, he's been here for a while, and maybe Dean could take him back to Jacht. Maybe this is someone's lost son? Someone who got missing during one of the battles all those years ago?

"Calm down, Impala," Dean says to Impala in a soothing voice. The dragon sits down, but her face is still furious as she looks at the boy. Then Dean turns to him, one hand still on Impala's forehead to keep her back.

"Who are you?" he asks, and for a moment the boy's big blue eyes look at him in surprise. Then he kneels down gently, hand reaching for the mask that is still lying on the ground. In the meantime, he's also backing down softly, barely noticeable. "I'm Dean Winchester, and this is Impala," Dean continues, looking back at the Dragon for a moment. When he turns his head to the boy, he finds nothing. He's run away, not leaving any clue of his presence.

For a moment Dean is wondering whether he should go and find this guy, or if he should just forget about it and get back home. In the end, Impala makes the choice for him, pressing her head against his back and nodding back to the sky. Dean then agrees, crawling back into the saddle and then they're back in the sky, on their way to Jacht.

To his biggest surprise his father isn't angry when he returns. Instead he's quite happy, slapping Dean on the shoulder in a friendly way while continuing his story about what a Chief needs to do. Dean simply rolls his eyes as John doesn't shut up during dinner, and he gives Sam a shove when the teenager is snorting.

Then after a moment, Dean's curiosity gets the best of him and he interrupts his father's speech.

"Dad, was there once a little kid or a teenage boy taken away by dragons a few years back?" Dean asks, trying to sound casual about this all, as if this is just a random question. John doesn't seem to find this question strange at all – probably because his mind is elsewhere.

"There were just a few children taken, if I remember correctly," John says, frowning as he's digging back into his memories. "Most of them were found again or found their own way home eventually."

Okay, so Dean is absolutely nothing with this information. He drops his head in his hand as he pokes his meat once again.

"But there's one kid nobody ever found again, though I can't remember his name at the moment," John continues, pressing one finger against his chin. "He was about five when he was taken, the son of Hannah and Michael. The two never really recovered from the loss."

"Are they still on Jacht?" Dean asks a little too enthusiastically. Now, John's eyebrows raise in suspicion.

"The father still is, but the mother tried to find him, and her ship never returned back here."

Dean tries to remain neutral as his father inspects him.

"Why do you ask, anyway?"

Damn, quick, make up a lie, Dean thinks. He bites his lip for a moment before looking up.

"I don't know, maybe put some kind of sign at the Academy to honor him or something?" he says, hoping that his father will accept this excuse. John continues to look at him for a moment, but then suddenly smiles. Man, he was acting weird lately?

"Now, that's really a good thing to do!" John says with the biggest grin on his face. "Michael would like that, I think. You could ask him if he wants that, he lives in the little fisher's hut at the beach."

Dean takes in the information as he finishes his meat, ruffling Sam's hair as he passes by. "Thanks dad," he says while walking to the door.

"See, this exactly is why you should become chief, son! Your ideas are so good for the tribe."

Okay, enough is enough. Dean hurries through the door as his father continues to praise him, and he hates it. The man can't stop! It's so annoying!

The only reason why Dean is so uncomfortable with it, though, is because John has never been like this at all. Before he merely tolerated Dean, but always seemed to fancy Sam more. Dean was the soldier, Sam was the brain. Dean would become the next chief, alright, since he's the oldest, but Sam would become the next elder, John always said. Everybody would come to him with their questions, their sick people. And for a long while they both accepted their fate. Who are they to deny their father, right?

But when Sam reached eleven, he started to rebel against his father's vision. And at the same time, Dean went to befriend a Dragon. John's disappointment in his sons had been great, until they'd proven that they were, in fact, still worth something. Okay, they might have done things differently than a normal Viking would have, but in the end they still saved the people, and ended the war.

So Dean figures that John's only so enthusiastic about it all because he wants to make it up to him. It makes sense, right?

When Dean reaches the beach, he looks around. The docks are filled with people getting the ships ready for the coming storm, tying them up to the posts so they wouldn't sail off. The sun is already setting, and Dean really doesn't want to head back home in the rain, so he hurries to the little house at the far end of the beach. It stands so lonely and it looks so old. The person living there probably doesn't take care of it at all, and Dean can't really blame him.

When he knocks on the door, it takes a while for this Michael to open the door, but when he does, he's met with a face that kind of looks similar to the boy's at the island. Dean finds he's staring when the man's big blue eyes look at him in question.

"Eh-" Dean starts, swallowing once again. "You are Michael, right?" he then asks. The man – Michael – nods and leans against the doorframe as he takes in the young adult in front of him. Then Dean licks his lips quickly, holding out his hands in a gesture of showing he's unarmed.

"I came to ask you about your son?" Dean asks, and Michael's eyes widen in surprise. Now Dean would almost expect for the door to be slammed in his face, but that doesn't happen. Instead this broken man stands in front of him with all the sadness in his eyes, but also with some sort of relief.

"What do you want to know?" he asks, gesturing for Dean to get inside. Dean immediately follows the man, and sits down on the chair when he's invited to. The house looks bare, empty, despite the mess. This place has memories written all over it, but those memories are limited. When Dean catches sight of a Dragon doll, his eyes widen for a moment.

"What was his name?" Dean asks after a moment. The man sits down in front of him, wiping away the wet stripes of his hair. The man inhales deeply.

"Castiel," he says. "Such a sweet kid, always telling us that he wanted a Dragon." At that he points at the little doll on the floor, and Dean stands to pick it up. Michael follows his movements, and his eyes soften when Dean turns the doll in his hands.

"What did he look like?" Dean asks, not getting his eyes from the plush Dragon. Michael looks up for a moment, digging into his memories.

"He had his mother's dark hair," Michael explains. "And such large blue eyes. He almost never smiled, but we knew that he was happy because he often told us so."

Dean takes in the information and finds that it matches with the boy's description. So it could possibly be that he has found this man's son. Still, though, he doesn't want to get this man's hopes up, so he doesn't speak up. Then Dean nods, standing up again.

"Would you mind if we would put something in his honor at the Academy? Just so he won't be forgotten?" he tries, because if he doesn't, his father would find out. Now, though, Michael looks uncomfortable, frowning as he thinks about Dean's words.

"I think I'd rather have it you didn't," he says with all the friendliness he can find. Dean only nods, not even caring that the man said no; it's even better he said no, because why would he put a memorial sign at the Academy for Dragons for a boy that has been kidnapped by… well, Dragons?

"No, I totally understand," Dean says, lightly bowing to the man in front of him in politeness, and as a way of saying goodbye. When he wants to put the doll back down, Michael stops him.

"Please, keep it," he says. "If my Castiel was still alive, he would have been your age, Dean, so I want you to have this. Otherwise it'll just linger here in this house." He wraps his hands around Dean's and makes him hold on to the Dragon. Dean only nods again, and finds that this toy could actually be helpful. With one last wave, he leaves Michael's house.

* * *

><p>The next day Dean gets ambushed at school by his friends. Benny, Ash, Chuck and Charlie all start asking questions at the same time, but it's Jo who punches them all out of the way in that typical way of hers and comes to stand in front of Dean, crossing her arms but smirking.<p>

"So, how come you didn't tell us about your upcoming status as chief?" Jo asks, and seriously, she's acting way too pushy for a seventeen year old. Dean only rolls his eyes as he gets off Impala's back, stroking her neck gently – which she likes so much she almost purrs loudly.

"How about none of your business?" Dean snaps back at her, and he sounds so genuine that Jo doesn't press the issue. That day at training, Rufus teaches them about tying knots and traps for hunting. The lesson is pretty boring, but eventually they continue to what plants they can eat and which are poisonous. After two hours of this, Rufus calls it a day, ordering the teens out of the forest and back home in his usual grumpy self. He reminds Dean quite a bit of Bobby, who shows affection that way too.

Before the other teens could ask him anything, Dean gets on the back of Impala again, going back up right when the others call out his name. Once again he's ignoring them. He touches the bag he attached to the saddle once more, and felt that Castiel's little dragon was still in it. Determined to find the boy again, he suggests Impala to go faster, and so she does.

They find the forest again without any trouble, and this time they don't get shot out of the air. Dean and Impala go down again, getting to the ground without making any more noise than necessarily and eventually he gets off of Impala back. Slowly they walk on foot, checking every bush and tree in search for the boy?

"Castiel?" Dean tries a few times, but he decides not to use that name too often. It might scare the boy even more off that a complete stranger would know his name.

The search continues for another hour until Dean sits down for a moment to eat the little lunch he packed in that morning. He knew that the search would take a while, so he made sure that he had any food. His stomach is thankful for that as Dean chews his bread. Impala just sits there, grooming herself while waiting. Then, after Dean throws the rest of his bread to the Dragon, they continue walking.

Dean cuts himself on a few branches on the way. He also almost accidentally falls into a river – Impala luckily catches him in time. When another branch hits him in the face, though, he curses loudly.

And that's when he hears the rustling. Dean's eyes open wide, and while ignoring the pain, he carefully looks around him, trying to find any indication that there's somebody else here with him.

Impala senses the company before Dean does, and she growls, making her stand in front of Dean as usual. She has he back raised, and her teeth bare. Her pupils are thin as she feels threatened.

The other presence makes itself known right after Impala's third growl; a Dragon (a white Night Fury?) with big, white feathered wings appears from behind a giant bush – and seriously, what is it about this place and giant bushes? Things keep on appearing from behind them.

Impala pushes Dean back as she prepares to protect her friend, and Dean falls on the ground, scrambling to get up again in the agitation. He needs Impala to calm down because this isn't helping at all. Dean can train most wild dragons he finds, but he can't do it while there's hostility around it.

When he finally stands, he presses his hand on Impala's head, willing her to calm down. She listens, though, as she stops growling, sitting back with one final huff. Then Dean walks forward to the Dragon slowly. He's never seen one like these before. Its spread wings are enormous and so graceful Dean has trouble keeping his eyes off them.

The Dragon's eyes follow him as he tries to get closer, and when he thinks he's close enough, he goes to his pockets to grab the flask of Hideous Zippleback-gas. He sprays its content in a circle around him, and after that, he takes his two firestones to start a spark. As soon as the fire meets the gas, a little explosion forms around him. He knows that it'll make him smell like fire, making the Dragon trust him a little bit more.

Now the Dragon in front of him looks at him with curious green eyes. Its face has lost all hostility, and all he needs to do now is to approach the Dragon gently. When he reaches out his hand again, the Dragon's pointy ears go up, and its curiosity gets the better of it. As it takes a stop forward, Dean does the same, until his hand presses up against the Dragon's nose.

Now Dean takes in the Dragon's features. It mostly has white scales, and a pointy face. The wings are not attached to the forelegs, so it now sits down like Impala does behind Dean. Then Dean takes a look at the wings specifically. They are feathered, which is something Dean has never seen before on a Dragon. The feathers look well-groomed and Dean has to use all his self-control not to run his fingers through them.

Another noise startles him, and Dean pulls his hand back in surprise. Next to him, crouched down to the ground, is the boy he's been looking for. While at first he was hostile as well, now he looks more curious as well, eyes – now Dean could see they are as blue as his father's – boring into him with such intensity it almost makes Dean feel uncomfortable.

"Eh, hi," Dean says, and that only earns him a tilt of the boy's head. After that, he makes no movement, but keeps on sitting there. Dean can now see that he's not wearing that big coat anymore.

"Castiel?" he tries then, and then the boy lifts his head in surprise, making him standing up a little more. He squints his eyes at Dean, but doesn't say a word, so Dean continues. "Yeah, I kind of met your father back at Jacht, I asked around a little bit. I thought, maybe, I could take you back home?"

For another moment it's quiet. The boy seems to be thinking, and Impala seems to get impatient as she presses her face against Dean's back again. Dean puts his hand on her head to calm her down.

"Home," Castiel mutters then, standing up at last. His eyes wander to the feathered Dragon for a moment, and then he grabs Dean's hand and pulls him along deeper in the forest. Surprised, Dean can't really object to it, so he follows Castiel as they pass tree after tree after tree. Impala sprints after him, worry clear on her face as her friend gets dragged along by a stranger.

Dean isn't quite looking at where they're going anymore, so the splash of water takes him fully by surprise. He's not completely wet, though, but a few drops managed to hit his face. When he looks back, he sees that they passed a waterfall. Where in Thor's name were they going?

When they get to a pile of rocks, Dean figures the way has been blocked. He's surprised though when Castiel starts climbing them, getting a few boosts from the feathered Dragon until they're both at the top. Impala gives Dean a sarcastic face when he nods at the two, so he knows he won't get any help from her. In annoyance he pushes her face away from him in a playful way as he starts to climb up. It takes him a minute or two to get to the top, and there Castiel doesn't even bother to wait anymore. He jumps off the rocks, and Dean can see grass down where Castiel gets to his feet. The Dragon follows him, and Dean makes a silent prayer to Odin before he too jumps down.

It's a surprise when he finds that the grass is so soft his drop didn't even hurt. He has a little trouble with getting back up because of the unsteady ground, though, and it takes another help from Impala until he stands on his two feet again. When Castiel then hurries and passes a corner, Dean finds he's fully disoriented. Of course he follows the boy, practically bumping in on him when he doesn't look at where he's going.

When he looks up, his mouth drops open. It's a massive clearing, filled with wild Dragons. They all look so happy and free, and it kind of makes Dean want to join them. The whole place is surrounded by mountains and the sky is covered with trees. Enough sunlight seems to slip through the branches, though, because it's clear as day in here.

When Dean looks back at Castiel, the boy nods proudly at the place.

"I'm home," he then says, turning to look at Dean as well. Impala takes a look around the open space, eyeing it with so much want in her eyes. Dean chuckles as he pets her softly.

"Go on girl, go have fun," he encourages her, and she complies immediately. She jumps off the cliff and goes to join the other Dragons in their flight. Then Dean turns to Castiel as well, waiting for any explanation. "So you do speak my language?" he asks when none comes.

Castiel nods wildly as he goes to sit down on a branch a little further up. Dean follows him, but remains standing. He doesn't want to let his guard down too much.

"You earn Enoch's trust very quickly," Castiel says, reaching behind him to grab a few of the berries. Dean nods, noticing the accent on the boy's voice. It's clear he hasn't spoken the language for quite a while. "For humans, not easy," he adds with his mouth full.

"You did it too, though?" Dean picks up a branch and throws it away in the depths of the cove. A few Dragons dive down to follow the piece of wood, and it makes Dean chuckle.

"I thought to be the only one," Castiel explains as he sits back. Dean finds his change in attitude a little bit strange, but it's much better to have him open about it all than quiet and reserved. "Your Dragon cares for you very much."

"Yeah," Dean mutters while staring far away where he can see his pitch black Dragon fly away enthusiastically. "She's one of my best friends."

"Same with Enoch," Castiel says, pointing at the Dragon still sitting next to the two. "He's the best friend I ever had." At that, the Dragon looks up, eyes following Castiel's movement as he wants to put another berry in his mouth. At noticing his Dragon's look, he sighs before throwing the berries in Enoch's way. The Dragon catches it and chews with his eyes closed, obviously enjoying the food.

Dean only notices that he's not flying along with the others. Enoch seems to be grounded somehow, and it kind of pains Dean to see it.

"Been gone for sixteen years," Castiel then continues, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his legs. "Don't think I want to go back to place where humans and Dragons fight."

Dean looks up at Castiel again, and now he finally does sit down. His eyes never leave Castiel as he rests his back against the rock behind them.

"The war is over, Castiel," Dean says reassuringly, causing Castiel to return the stare. He looks so wild, one with this whole place, but at the same time he has this… something that reminds Dean of life on Jacht "We no longer fight."

"Not possible," Castiel says.

"But it is!" Dean insists, earning him a glare from Castiel. This time, though, the boy doesn't answer. He only stands up to the cliff and look down. All of the sudden the group of Dragons that dove down to get that branch appear back up, and one of the smaller ones drops the stick Dean threw a moment ago at Dean's foot. Dean laughs as he picks up the branch and throws it again. Immediately the Dragons hurry after it, and they're alone again.

When Dean looks up he can see that it's close to getting dark. He should really be getting home. It seems like he won't be able to bring Castiel along today, but he can always try tomorrow. They can take their time until Castiel is comfortable with the idea of being surrounded by the villagers again. Dean then stands up and shouts out for Impala. The Dragon reacts immediately, speeding off to where Dean is standing. When she arrives, she's all jumpy and happy. She tackles Dean down and starts poking him with her paws in excitement. Dean can't stop laughing at the tickling, and he receives a weird, fond look from Castiel.

"Impala, come on girl, we need to get going!" Dean shouts between his laughter. Then the Dragon gives him one big lick before getting off again, standing ready for Dean to get back on her back.

"You're going already?" Castiel asks as Dean gets in the saddle. The boy looks kind of sad at seeing Dean leave.

"Yeah, my father would kill me if I would come late," Dean answers. "You know, as the pride of Jacht he's kind of afraid to lose me now."

Castiel smiles at him fondly as Dean attaches himself to the saddle. Impala and Enoch are both smelling each other in curiosity before Castiel's Dragon walks back again, lying down on the ground.

"Don't worry, I'll come back," Dean promises. There are still so many questions to ask, things to learn.

* * *

><p>When Dean does come back the next day, it's right after another discussion with his father. So far, he's been able to avoid to answer anything on the subject of being the next chief, but he can sense that his father is getting more and more frustrated by Dean's constant disappearances. Sam can only laugh about it behind his father's back.<p>

When he arrives back at the Dragon's hideout, he drops the heavy bag he's been carrying on the ground and looks around. For now, Castiel is nowhere to be found, but Dean knows he'll show up eventually. So Dean opens up the bag filled with delicious food he's prepared for Castiel – because after sixteen years in the wild he deserves some decent nutrition, right?

Dean stands at the edge of the cliff while he's waiting. He looks down, seeing that it's quite a drop. If he were to fall, it would lead to a certain death. So Dean takes a step back, bumping in to something. He inhales quickly, holding his breath as he turns around.

It's a wild Dragon, looking at him curiously. It's a purple beast with blue stripes all over. It has small blue eyes, and four pair of wings. Dean looks at the Dragon for a moment before he recognizes it as the Dragon who brought him back the stick last day. Dean chuckles as he reaches out his hand, and the Dragon presses its face in his palm.

"It's Hest'r," he hears above him suddenly, and Dean jerks back, looking up and finding Castiel in the tree. He's kneeling on a thicker branch, holding out his staff and winning the Dragon's – Hest'r's attention. Then Castiel throws something away, and Hest'r runs after it in full speed.

"She's quite a playbird," Dean says, chuckling as the Dragon dives down the cliff again. Impala quickly follows her, passing Dean by so quickly he almost falls over from the gush of wind. When he looks forward again, his vision is filled with Castiel, but now the boy is crouching at the bag, checking out every bit of food Dean prepared for him.

"Yeah, dig in!" Dean says, walking closer to Castiel and sitting down next to a bowl filled with meat. He digs out the logs of wood he brought along, and puts them a little further. One look at Enoch, and the Dragon knows what to do; he shoots a tiny flame out of his mouth, and the wood start burning. Then Dean pokes a stick through one of the pieces of meat, and he holds it above the fire. Castiel watches in fascination as Dean works.

"What is it?" Castiel asks, grabbing his own piece, picking up one of the sticks like the one Dean used, and pricking it through the meat as well.

"It's sheep," Dean says. "We prepared it so it would be good to take along for a trip, so don't worry, it's eatable."

So the two start warming up their food, eating in silence as the Dragons around them play joyfully, chasing the other in a flying race. Except for Enoch, who still sits there looking quite sad.

"Why doesn't he join the others?" Dean asks while taking a big sip from his cup filled with water. Castiel casts his eyes at Dean before swallowing whatever he was chewing.

"Enoch got hurt, and now he can't fly anymore," Castiel explains as he turns to Enoch. The Dragon looks up at the mention of his name, and doesn't turn away. For a moment it looks like the two are sharing a silent and secret conversation, but eventually Castiel returns to his food, throwing a few pieces of meat in Enoch's direction.

"Why'd you name him Enoch, anyway?" Dean then asks out of curiosity, and the expression on Castiel's face is one of pure horror and surprise.

"I did not call him anything," he says as if that's the most obvious thing in the world. "A Dragon chooses own name."

Dean's brow raises at that, because how then would Enoch have told Castiel his name? It's not like the Dragon can speak, right? Castiel, though doesn't elaborate about that, and they finish up their lunch in the end. Dean stops the fire with the blanket he brought along, and then he packs up the stuff he still needs to take home. The leftovers he leaves here; Castiel could choose to eat it, or the Dragons could take it.

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel says when they both stand again. Dean doesn't answer, but offers him a smile, a subtle way to say that it wasn't even a problem to start with. But he doesn't, because somehow he's entranced by this strange boy.

"What are those stripes on your face?" Dean asks then, and he bites his lip at the realization of the pushy question. Castiel only shakes his head and smiles as he looks around.

"They're kind of markings," Castiel explains, passing his fingers over them. "The paint gets off after a while, but it is kind of an indication of growing up?" Even though Castiel seems unsure about his words, Dean understands him completely. "When Dragon receives marking, it means they've come of age, but I do not, so Enoch gave me my own marking"

Then Dean turns back to the Dragon who has dropped his head on his paws as an indication of boredom. Castiel seems to notice, so he walks to him, slowly sitting down next to him and practically hugging him. Dean finds it heartwarming how Castiel and Enoch act with each other; it reminds him of him and Sam, or him and Impala. At the thought of his own Dragon, he tries to find her again, only to see that she and Hest'r are both pulling at one end of the stick, trying to steal it from the other. Once again, Dean smirks. He walks up to Enoch and Castiel, and sits down on Enoch's other side, pressing his back against the Dragon's shoulder.

"Is there any way for him to fly again?" Dean asks, and he can hear Castiel sigh next to him.

"No, tail got hurt. Not able to heal," he explains, and as if Enoch has been listening, he pulls out his tale to drop it on Dean's lap, where he can see that the right fin has been torn of. That must have hurt awfully for the Dragon.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Pirates that attacked you and Impala caught him. I could free him before they arrived," Castiel says, pressing his head against Enoch's neck, and the Dragon stretches out, enjoying the attention he's getting.

They end up talking a little bit mor about the other Dragons around here before Dean finds that he needs to return home again. When Dean stands up, and Impala is standing next to him, Dean finally reaches out for the little bag they brought along yesterday as well. There he fishes out the little Dragon plush from Castiel's childhood. When the boy sees it in Dean's hands, his eyes widen in pleasant surprise. He takes it from Dean's hand so slowly, as if he's afraid it'll disappear if he goes too quickly.

After that, he thanks Dean one more time before turning to walk away. Dean only packs up the rest of his stuff and gets ready to leave again.

* * *

><p>"How did you come to trust me so quickly?" Dean one day asks as they lie down on the grass. Castiel turns his head to the Viking, and doesn't answer for a while. Instead he just stares him in the eyes, and while it should make Dean feel uncomfortable, this time it doesn't bother him.<p>

"You share something with your dragon like no other Viking has ever done before," he then starts, not removing his stare from Dean. "Enoch did not see you as different." Like usual he doesn't elaborate further, and Dean doesn't press on, instead he enjoys just lying there until the sun is down completely.

The next few days are spent avoiding the Chief right before training, then actual training with Rufus and the other teens, and then eventually Dean flying off as soon as they're done for the day. His afternoons with Castiel are quite educational, to be honest. Castiel teaches him how to hunt in the forest.

Dean learns how to walk quietly. He finds out the best ways to build a spear and carve a stone into a knife. He learns how to make traps and how to tie knots. Castiel shows him how to track with the wind, the smells. And everything Castiel teaches him makes him stand out from the rest of his friends. When they finally manage to catch one squirrel, Dean already has five. Rufus is strangely proud of him, and the others are only suspicious.

The next day Dean goes to Enoch to take his measurements, check out the tail that has been hurt and trying to find a way to make him fly again. He doesn't say a word to Castiel, who keeps on asking him about it. The boy now speaks Dean's language effortlessly, and he's so eager to learn. Dean tells him about everything that has changed on Jacht, living together with the Dragons, the monthly Dragon Races Jo always seems so eager to win with her Deadly Nadder called Nightlight, the Academy… And in exchange Castiel tells him every secret about the Dragons. He shows him hand signals that could make a Dragon lose consciousness. About how, despite that they have raised him, they kind of see Castiel as their leader (to this he admits in embarrassment). He shares his dreams of seeing Enoch flying once again, wishing he could fly with him as well. And then he gets on to the mating season of the Dragons.

"Is it that time of the year again?" Dean asks, truly taken aback by the information. He's aware that the Dragons disappear two times a year; when they mate and when they hatch the eggs. At first all Jacht had panicked, but eventually they realized it was an annual thing, so they got used to it. But now, time has flown by so easily that Dean has forgotten it's getting close again.

"It's in fourteen days, yes," Castiel says, watching Impala lying next to Enoch. Then he's smiling, nodding at the two with his eyebrows raised. "I can sense something growing there…"

And Dean turns to look at the Dragons. When he thinks of it, he has to admit that Enoch and Impala seem quite fond of each other. They also kind of look alike, except for the wings and the fact that Enoch is white as snow and Impala black as ink.

"I've always felt kind of lonely during mating season," Castiel suddenly admits. He's drawing something in the dirt with a stick, and he seems to be far away in thought. Dean can understand, though; all those years being raised by Dragons, seeing them all pair up together during that one time a year and always being alone.

"If you want I can keep you company? I wouldn't want to keep Impala away from her lover-boy anyway, so I don't see why we can't hang out?"

Castiel literally lights up at hearing that, and after a long thank you, they part their ways again. Dean skips on dinner to get to his old workplace, taking out his measurements of Enoch's tail and working on his little secret project. After a few hours he's ready with a fake tail-fin to replace Enoch's lost one. Now he only needs to find a way to attach it.

The next day Dean skips training to get back to the hideout. He keeps Castiel in the dark as he starts putting the prosthetic in place, and then admires the view. Enoch's still busy eating from the basket filled with fish Dean brought along, and as soon as it's empty, he notices the attachment on his tail. Surprised, he turns around, and Dean smiles at the Dragon.

"Oh, Cas!" Dean calls out, and when the boy arrives, Enoch's already in the air, flying around with Impala.

"What?" Castiel asks with his mouth fallen open, and Dean enjoys how he's so confused. He puts his hand on his friend's shoulder and follows the pair as well.

"Watch your dream come true," he says, and it earns him a big and long hug from Castiel. To be honest, he doesn't quite want to let go of the boy.

A little later, the two Dragons are still chasing each other, and the two boys sit down under a tree.

"Dean, you never really told me how the war ended?" Castiel then suddenly asks, and Dean sits up a little bit for that. He remains silent for a little moment as he tries to figure out how to speak, reaching his hand out for a few berries from the bush next to him.

"I shot down Impala, and when I had the chance to kill her, I couldn't," Dean says, giving his Dragon a fond look. "She didn't trust me at first either, always flying away from me whenever I came close, so I kind of bribed her with fish until she came. Eventually we became friends, and then we both learned how to fly together.

"At that time we were training to become the next generation of Dragon killers; it was Charlie, Benny, Victor, Balthazar, Anna and me at the time. We were put in the arena with caught Dragons and we were only told to survive. Thanks to Impala I learned tricks on how to distract dragons with the simplest things. The other students caught on to my sudden success, and as words travels fast, it reached my brother.

"Sammy followed me into the woods one day and discovered Impala. The little nerd, he was, because instead on rattling us out he wanted to learn everything about her. We went for a flight around the island, and instead Impala took us to the Dragon's nest my father had been searching for years.

"We barely escaped from the queen Dragon there, and the next day I got in trouble during practice. Impala runs out to save me, and our little secret gets out. Dad was furious with the both of us. He was embarrassed and refused to talk to us further. He took Impala to the ships and they set sail for the Dragon's nest. When they got there, though, the giant Dragon came out of the mountain. My father and the other Vikings were helpless, and the worst thing was that I knew exactly what would happen, but I couldn't get away. Eventually we freed the Dragons from the arena and with the other students we flew off to the nest, defeated the Dragon, and since then we've lived in peace."

Dean has to catch his breath as he finishes the story. He's kept it short and quick, because there isn't much more to know. They saved Jacht, end of story. It isn't that Dean doesn't like to think about it, because it's a good thing how they changed Jacht for the better, but it kind of feels weird to take credit for this. Because in the end he's still just another Viking boy who likes to disobey the rules.

"Is your father someone special in the tribe?" Castiel asks suddenly. Dean gets pulled out of his train of thoughts, and he chuckles when the words get through.

"My dad's the chief," he explains. "He wants me to follow him up real soon, have me take the title as the next chief."

"You don't seem to want that?" And he's correct. They both look at each other again, and Dean could see Cas inspecting him, trying to read him.

"No, me being chief would mean I'm grounded to Jacht," Dean answers. "I need to get out here, to fly whenever I can, but if I take my father's place, I couldn't do that."

After that they remain silent until Dean leaves again. This time their goodbye has an extra hug before Dean gets back on Impala, and it's only when he's in the air that he realizes he just hugged his friend. And it takes another second to find out as well that he actually likes hugging his friend. When the thought hits through, Dean places his hands in his hair as he lies back down on Impala's back, groaning.

_What's wrong with me?_

* * *

><p>Castiel teaches Dean Archery. It's not as if Dean can't shoot an arrow with a bow already, but so far Dean never managed to hit the center of the target. So, while Dean skips out on more Viking training back at the Academy, the two spend their time in the woods, shooting down their dinner from the air.<p>

Castiel doesn't feel awkward at all at the idea of touching Dean. In fact, he does it quite often; touching his arm, his hips, his back. It's all for the stance of archery of course, but Dean does notice it to be quite honest. And if he doesn't mind those single touches, nobody has to know.

During the times that he does show up at the training, he scores the best points of them all – to all their surprise of course. Jo tries to get his secret out of him, but the others seem to mind their own business. Dean doesn't notice how Sam seems to become quieter as well, watching in the background how his brother starts to steal all the glory again.

About another week later, Dean and Impala join Castiel and Enoch for their first flight together. Dean has spent a few evenings at the smithy to prepare a good saddle for Enoch, and now that it's ready, it's time for a test drive.

Castiel can't stop smiling as he's in the air, flying above the ocean. His face seems so calm when the wind touches his skin. Dean can't find any way to stop staring at him, because the sight is simply amazing.

Enoch tries to find his maximum speed, and Impala seems to get in the spirit of competition, because before they know it they're racing. It's not really clear who wins in the end; they're having too much fun to really care.

When the sun is slowly setting, they slow down a bit, just enjoying a calm flight while watching the colors of the sky.

"Did you like it?" Dean asks, and Castiel turns to him with a wide smile.

"I never knew it would be this wonderful," Castiel answers. "Thank you, Dean."

"You're welcome buddy."

* * *

><p>The evening before the Dragon's mating season begins, all of Jacht wave their Dragons goodbye as they fly off to their own place. It will take a week for them to return back home.<p>

"The mating season is not so much for mating as you say, but more a period for them to be with their significant others. It's the season where they can be together undisturbed, and – as us humans would say – fall in love," Castiel had explained a few days ago. Of course Castiel would know, as he can talk to the Dragons. The language doesn't have a name in Castiel's opinion, because that's not something the beasts care about, but Dean likes to call it Dragonese to annoy him.

When all of Jacht is back in their house, already getting used to being alone once more, Dean and Impala get ready to leave as well. Dean hasn't forgotten his deal with Cas; they'll spend the week together so he wouldn't be alone. Of course it would raise questions back in Jacht, but that's something he might deal with later.

Sometimes Dean wonders why he hasn't even told anybody about Castiel, but if he's perfectly honest, he isn't ready to share this little secret. For now, only he's aware about the boy, and that just makes it a little bit more perfect.

After leaving Jacht, Dean flies off to the island. They know how to find it blindly by now. Impala flies right through the little space between the trees and gets into the hideout immediately. She's greeted by a few other Dragons, and when Dean unmounts her, she's back in the air, followed by other Dragons. Dean thinks he sees Enoch flying there as well, and it makes him smirk.

I know who's going to spend his week with a certain Night Fury, Dean thinks as he walks to Castiel's cave. It's a little homey thing Castiel made for himself in the years he spent here. It has a makeshift bed made of straw and covered by some fur. Dragons don't come in there – except for Enoch – so Dean isn't surprised to see the boy sitting there alone.

Castiel's face lights up when he sees Dean, and he stands up, still holding his staff. He marches closer to Dean, and wraps his arms around the Viking's body in a tight hug.

"Thank you for being here, Dean," Castiel whispers to him, and Dean only hugs him back, not even thinking about letting go until Castiel's long hair tickles his nose. They part, and then just stand there for a moment.

"Is it all right if I take off my flight suit? If I'm going to be here all week, I might as well be comfortable," Dean asks, and Castiel nods. When Dean starts to take off the heavy parts of the suit, Castiel starts a little fire over some pot that seems handmade. Once Dean is only wearing his shirt and his pants, he sits down in front of Cas.

"So, what are we going to do in these next few days?" Dean asks half-jokingly. In fact he's really curious to what they're going to do. They can't go flying because their Dragons will be too busy, and staying in the cave isn't really something he's looking forward to. Okay, its cozy in here, but there's a limit.

"We could hunt some more in the woods, maybe visit the beach? Or swim in the lake?"

As they eat, they try to make some sort of schedule for the next few days. Castiel really wants to swim in the lake now that it won't be filled with other Dragons. Dean agrees that it's a good idea.

That night, Dean and Cas get to share a bed. Nobody protests or makes a big deal out of it. In fact, Dean finds it even relaxing to lie next to somebody. He listens to Castiel breathing and if there was any light, he would have watched his sleeping face.

The next morning they start with a short breakfast made from bread Dean smuggled along from Jacht. They eat in silence, but their eyes meet a lot. Dean could be imagining it, but it seems like Castiel is blushing.

They go hunting in the woods, catching a few boars and one or two birds. When they carry it back to the hideout, Dean slips on a branch, landing face first in the mud. Castiel drops the animals as he starts laughing, pressing his hand to his stomach. Dean glares at him and grabs a handful of mud, throwing it at the boy.

The mud lands in Castiel's face, and the laughing stops immediately. Now, Castiel's blue eyes are looking at Dean strongly, and Dean isn't sure if he made Castiel laugh or made him actually pissed. He gets an apology ready, but when he wants to speak a handful of mud is thrown in his face.

"Oh, it's on!" Dean shouts as he stands up and tackles Castiel down in the mud. Both boys laugh as they start to wrestle, and so far it's Dean winning. He keeps Castiel's arms pinned down, but forgets his legs, and when Castiel kicks him, he ends up lying underneath the boy. Castiel looks down at him while trying to catch his breath, and they just stare for a moment. It's what they do a lot, actually; stare.

When Dean is aware of the position they're in, he coughs softly, getting Cas out of their trance as well. They say quick apologies, and then continue to carry the animals they caught back to the hideout.

Their afternoon is spend at the lake, where they wash out their clothes as well. The lake is situated in the trees of the hideout, and it's perfectly hidden from anybody right now. When Dean undresses, he suddenly becomes aware of his own body. He's getting a little bit reluctant of stripping down completely, but as he looks up he can see the back of Cas, as naked as possible, before he dives down in the water. Dean then takes off the last of his clothing and sprints in the water as well.

The lake is cold and it sends Dean shivering at the first touch. He yelps quite unmanly as he dives in completely, which makes Castiel laugh out loud. The boy swims closer while Dean is struggling to keep his head out of the water.

"Cold?" Castiel asks mockingly, and Dean gives him glare.

"When did you get a sense of humor all of the sudden?" Dean counters, pressing his hands on Castiel's head and pushing him under the water playfully. Castiel swings his arms wildly to get Dean off him, and when he finally grabs Dean's arm, he pulls it away.

"You're crazy," Castiel breathes as he resurfaces, staring at Dean disbelievingly.

"Honestly, Cas, I didn't push that strong, you just have no force in those skinny little arms of yours," Dean teases, pulling out his tongue. Castiel sends him a glare. He then grabs Dean's arms, turns him around, and pulls his arms uncomfortably behind his back.

"Careful, because this boy bites," he whispers in Dean's ear. Dean startles a little at the realization that Cas s so close to him. The words escape his mouth, and he's left breathless while Castiel is still holding him.

After a while, Dean gives up at speaking, so he coughs softly.

"Ehm, Cas," he manages, and then Castiel lets him go, cheeks flushed red. They get an appropriate amount of space between them, and both are chuckling innocently. It even takes a while for them to look each other in the eye again.

They stay in the lake for another half hour before they decide it's enough and get out. Before Castiel can look up, Dean is out of the water, running for his clothes and hiding behind the bushes. He's not really embarrassed, but there are just some parts that have to stay hidden.

As soon as they're both dressed again, they set out to their usual spot at the hideout – the border of the cliff. Without any trouble they climb back up (okay, so maybe they scratch their knees once or twice, but other than that it's all okay). The air is filled with Dragons, flying in pairs. With amazement, Dean watches them when he sits down on the grass, leaning backwards on his hands. Castiel comes to sit next to him, following two Nadders with his eyes. The pair fly up a tree and start to groom each other there.

"It's really amazing," Dean mutters, more to himself than to Castiel, but the boy still nods in agreement. They sit close to each other, but honestly, Dean doesn't even care at all. Castiel's calmness is comfortable. Dean doesn't feel his father's pressure, his brother's expectant eyes, Jo's tough bravado that actually just hides her soft, uncertain side. No, Castiel is simple; he's kind, curious, and has grown to be an exceptional friend for Dean.

When Dean glances back to Castiel, he can see that Cas's neck-cap is missing, and his throat is finally visible; That's why now it's the first time he can see the scar above is Adam's apple.

"Hey, what's that?" Dean asks, pointing at his own throat because he isn't sure Castiel would appreciate being touched there. Castiel reaches his hand up to touch the scar and opens his mouth a little bit. He's frowning now.

"Oh, Metatron tried to kill me because I stopped him from stealing the Dragons," Castiel explains as if it's simple. Dean tenses at the idea of a knife pressed against Cas's throat.

"Who's Metatron?" Dean asks, silently cursing the guy with probably the weirdest name any Viking could come up with.

"He's an Outcast who manages to control Dragons by force. He wants to use them all to conquer over all the Seven Sea's," Castiel says. "He's a madman, and his Dragon Raphael was a Giant Whispering Death. The biggest anyone has ever seen. Last I heard, though, the Dragon did not make it.

"He sends pirate ships around here to catch these Dragons. They shot you down as well that first day. I saw Impala fall and rushed to her before they could find her."

Dean watches Castiel's angry expression as the boy talks. It's strange to see him like this, laid back but still furious at the memory of these pirates hunting down the Dragons Castiel is set to hide.

"I haven't heard from him in a while, but I fear he might be planning something big," Castiel says then after a long silence. Dean doesn't know what to answer, so he remains silent. They then continue to watch the Dragons as they fly around or nuzzle together. To the left of them he can see Impala and Enoch together, rather playfully unlike the others. They are both pulling a large log, using their wings to get more force. Dean chuckles at the sight.

"Look at our two lovebirds," Dean says, pointing at the two. Castiel follows his movement and watches his Dragon as well. A smile showing up on his face.

"I always feared he might never find a partner. I'm glad he and Impala get along so well," he says, sounding truly relieved, but somehow still sad in a way. "A Night Fury and a Day Breaker together. You know they might be the last of their kind?"

That doesn't really come to Dean as a surprise; he and Impala both realized long ago that finding another Night Fury might be a hopeless mission. Enoch, though, does share a lot of features with Impala; they're built is the same, only Enoch is white and Impala black. And then there are the wings, of course. Impala is more a bat-like Dragon, while Enoch has the feathers of a bird. It makes him unique in a way.

When Castiel turns around to look at Dean again, their faces are closer than should be. Dean feels the blood rush to his face when he can feel Castiel's breath against his skin, but he's so in trance that he can't turn away.

Very slowly they reach forward, getting even closer than before. Dean accidentally touches Castiel's hand in the process, but he doesn't even bother to pull back. The place where their skin meets feels warm, and the most intense tingling feels in Dean's stomach that he's not sure if he's nervous or if he's actually going to throw up real soon. His breath catches right when their lips barely touch, and this is it. Just one little reach and…

Two little Terrible Terrors pass them in full speed, getting them out of the moment. They both pull back with a hesitant look on their face, neither of them daring to look at each other. Dean keeps his focus on Impala and Enoch, and he's rubbing his hands together, trying to remove that warm feeling at his fingers.

Eventually it's time for dinner so Castiel stands up, announcing that he's going to prepare something to eat. Dean offers to help, but Castiel refuses.

"Please, you're my guest," Castiel says, scratching his hair in obvious discomfort. Dean remains seated, but feels his heart drop at Cas's behavior. Did Dean make him uncomfortable? Is Castiel simply ashamed? Dean pulls his knees up and wraps his arms around his legs, pressing his chin against his kneecaps. A long sigh escapes his mouth as he waits for Castiel to return from the cage. He hopes Castiel isn't planning on cooking something big, because the minute he left Dean feels alone.

Which is normal, honestly; all the Dragons here are spending their time with their beloved ones. It's weird for Dean to realize that Dragons love the same way humans do. They can have that unconditional feeling for another, that urge to spend every moment with them. While Dean just thought it was a week spent on breeding and claiming, the Mating Season is actually one big celebration of love that lasts for a week.

It's the week one's supposed to spend with his or her loved one.

As the words hit him, Dean turns his head back to the cave where Cas is now cooking. All those years he's spent alone, and now here they are, spending their first Mating Season together. It sounds a little weird to him, but it doesn't make it less true.

Obviously, Dean's grown to care about Castiel in a way he's never really cared about another. It's not comparable with Cassie five years back, neither with Lisa three years ago. This is something completely different, and Dean can't even describe why.

Dean can just imagine Cas back on Jacht, checking out every object he doesn't understand or never seen before. He would question random strangers on the streets, and taste the food before buying it.

He would be reunited with his father again; with Michael who thinks he lost his son to a Dragon, and lost his wife to her own madness.

Dean gets pulled out of his train of thoughts by Castiel who calls out for him. Dean gets up, throwing one last look at Impala and Enoch before turning to the cave as well and accepting the piece of meat that is given to him.

* * *

><p>Castiel is a calm sleeper, Dean finds out as he lies awake in the 'bed'. It's a large enough thing to leave an ppropriate amount of space between them, but Dean's sure they'll wake up with probably their legs or arms touching anyway.<p>

Dean just stares at Castiel as the boy sleeps on. He studies his face; his sharp nose breathes in the air, but it comes back out from the mouth. That's the second thing Dean looks at. His full, soft-looking mouth. How it's lightly opened. He doesn't snore, and Dean can only hear him breathe because he's paying attention to it.

Dean is taken aback from the calmness in Castiel's face. His skin looks soft somehow, despite the living in the wild for all these years. Even for a Viking this is really soft skin.

Suddenly, Castiel opens his eyes, and his pupils stare right in Dean's. They stay quiet for a moment, but then, without really thinking about it, Dean reaches to a few loose straps of hair, pulling them out of his face. Castiel follows his movement silently, not looking away from Dean at all.

Dean has enough of it; the tension is just too much. He reaches forward, not removing his hand from Cas's face and pressing their lips together softly. The kiss isn't hard or hasty, but rather sweet and slow. It's just a brush of their mouths together, the touch of skin against skin.

When Castiel's hand rests on his hip, Dean doesn't flinch or more away. Instead he kisses deeper, opening his mouth and thanking Castiel for doing the same.

Dean comes to lie on top of Castiel after a while, resting his two hands right next to the boy's head and leaning on them so as not to crush Castiel with his weight. Castiel's hands reach for Dean's face now, pulling him closer to him. A little moan escapes his mouth, and Dean pulls back lightly to instead press kisses in his neck.

Deep inside he knows that it's wrong; that Castiel is a boy just like Dean, and that boys are not supposed to get together like this. But it just feels so right, so good. There's no way for Dean to let go of this now that he has it.

After kissing for what seems like forever, they both pull back, just staring each other in the eyes again. Then Castiel chuckles, and Dean follows, pressing his forehead against Castel's shoulder. They're still in their embrace, unwilling to even let go.

When they fall asleep, it's with Castiel's back pressing against Dean's chest, fingers locked together and with a smile on their faces.

* * *

><p>For a moment Dean panics as he wakes up. It takes a few seconds for him to remember that it's normal to be spooned behind Castiel, because that's how they went to sleep the night before.<p>

Dean wakes Castiel up by pressing soft kisses in his neck again. His stomach flutters with every touch, and that sensation is just too good to walk away from.

"Hmmm, good morning Dean," Castiel says while yawning. He doesn't make any indication of wanting to move, but instead presses back against Dean to snuggle some more.

In all his twenty-one years Dean would never have thought that he craved being touched like this. He never felt this way with his previous girlfriends. With Cassie he fought more often than had pleasant conversations with. Lisa was more in need of the sexual touch, only happy when they slept together. Dean now understands why those relations never really lasted.

"Come on," Dean says, pressing one last kiss against his shoulder before getting out of the bed. Castiel groans as the blanket gets thrown off; he presses his face against the pillow and starts cursing things Dean doesn't really understand.

"Wow, grumpy much?" Dean jokes, tickling Castiel's bare feet and causing him to pull his legs back.

"You are horrible," Castiel curses. He finally sits up and rubs his eyes wildly. His long hair is all over his head and completely out of model – not that it ever was in model of course…

"I'm adorable," Dean counters, shooting a smug look at the young man in front of him. Castiel only shakes his head as he gets out of bed, walking to the rock where he dropped his day clothes last night. Without speaking they both dress up and get back out of the cave. The sudden daylight almost blinds Dean. He keeps his hand above his eyes and looks around.

"Where are the Dragons?" Dean asks nervously, but Castiel doesn't seem all that bothered as he starts the climb down to the lake.

"At this inhumane hour they still sleep, Dean," Castiel says dryly. The air is pretty nice out, and soon they both lose their warm fur and drop it next to a rock at the lake. Dean enjoys the feeling of freedom while he still can.

They swim some more in the lake, teasing each other constantly. They push each other under water playfully, and after that they start kissing again.

It's so perfect because there's no need for explanation here. They don't sit down together to talk this out, about what this is. Because they both don't really know it. They're just them, just two young men who've grown to care about each other more than possibly should.

They also don't talk about Dean inevitable return to Jacht at the end of the week. They're already half through the week, and Dean's presence is still needed at the tribe.

Around noon they lie together in the grass at the lake, both barely dressed. They lie next to each other, doing what they always do; staring at each other.

"I'm glad I get to spend this week with you, Dean," Castiel confesses, dropping his hand next to his face. Dean takes out his other hand as well, entwining their fingers again.

"Me too," Dean answers in a whisper before they both lean in for another kiss.

The next few days pass by way to quickly for them. Castiel teaches him the language of the Dragons a little more. Dean starts to teach Castiel how to read in return. They touch each other constantly, from hugs and handholding to just little contact like their fingertips together. Castiel blushes a lot, which Dean likes to see. He often just makes inappropriate jokes about stuff that leaves Cas all red-faced and flustered.

Their last day is quiet. The Dragons start to show themselves more again, and even Impala and Enoch come down for a little quality time with the two humans. Both realize that the time for Dean to return home is getting closer.

That evening at dinner, Castiel appears sad. He barely smiles, and the small touches are so limited.

"It's not like I'm going away forever, Cas," Dean tries, but it doesn't even cheer Castiel up in the least. "I'll be back soon, give me two days maybe? Because I need to find an excuse for my dad of course…" Dean starts rambling, and Castiel remains quiet. He barely touches his meat and when Dean looks back up he's already walking outside.

Dean follows him in silence, wrapping his arms around Castiel when he stands behind him and resting his head on his shoulder.

"Cas, please," Dean whispers, grabbing his hand and squeezing his fingers lightly. "I promise I'll be back."

Castiel presses back against Dean, finally giving in to the embrace. He turns his head to Dean's, and they share a small kiss.

"We both know this isn't going to work," Castiel then finally says. His voice sounds beaten, as if he's given up already. "When you're chief you're going to have to stay in Jacht, and I can't just leave the Dragons here when Metatron is still trying to take them all."

Dean nuzzles against his neck as he takes in the words.

"Maybe if you just come home with me, we'll explain the situation to my father and send someone out to fight Metatron," Dean offers. Castiel shakes his head and sighs loudly.

"I'm sure your father knows about Metatron," Castiel says. "This man is not to be reasoned with; he wants power and nothing will stop him."

"We'll figure something out," Dean then whispers, making a mental promise to convince his father. They need to stop Metatron quickly.

Castiel turns around to look at Dean again, It's like he's trying to read into Dean's mind, and the Viking honestly doesn't really mind. Castiel has permission to know everything that is going on in his head.

They start to kiss again softly; Castiel rests his hands on Dean's chest, and Deans are on his lower back, pressing him closer to his body. Outside of the cave it's already getting dark, and there's a breeze coming up as an indication that the warm season is slowly getting to an end.

They get back inside, hands lazily pressed together. They don't bother cleaning up the rock they use as a table and go straight to the bed instead. Castiel leans Dean down on the bed, crawling over him and pressing their bodies together. Once again they're kissing, but this time it's more intense. There's no more cautiousness in it anymore as they start to undress slowly.

They barely keep their lips from each other. Dean grabs Castiel's face in his own, holding in another tight embrace. Half-undressed, Dean turns them around so Cas is lying on his back and looking up at Dean with those big blue eyes. They don't really know what they're doing, but they'll figure something out.

Getting rid of their pants takes even less time and soon they're both completely undressed. There's no shame, no embarrassment like that first time in the lake. Dean is willing to let Castiel see all of him because there's no-one else he can imagine to offer this part of him anymore.

Because, somehow in these few weeks that they've known each other, Dean came to the realization that Cas is **it** for him. That in one weird way they're meant for each other. And Dean doesn't even feel shame for thinking these things, how unmanly it might seem, these feelings and thoughts are true and there's no need to hide them. Because Castiel doesn't hide them either.

They make love that night for the first time. It's a little awkward at the beginning, when they try to figure out what exactly can work and what they shouldn't do, but eventually they find something that will be good for both of them. After enough preparation and oil Castiel extracted from plants, they're both ready to move together, to hold on to each other like two men have never done in any known history. And they both fail to speak the words that come to their minds, but they manage to say all the words with their eyes instead.

Castiel leans his head back as Dean moves inside him in a very slow pace. He rests his hands on Dean's shoulders for a while, gripping his skin and not intending to let go. Building up to that climax is like nothing Dean's ever felt before. This isn't a race like it was with Lisa, because both don't do it to just find relief. Castiel and Dean keep touching each other, hands caressing every part of their bodies, lips covering every piece of skin that is reachable. They both don't rush to it, but keep it on a calm pace so that nobody would get hurt. Dean rests his forehead against Castiel's, eyes still boring into each other.

**The mating season is not so much for mating as you say, but more a period for them to be with their significant others. It's the season where they can be together undisturbed, and – as us humans would say – fall in love.**Dean can remember Castiel's words clearly as he keeps on getting closer to the climax. All they can hear now are their own huffs of air. There's no groaning or moaning; they are really quiet. Somehow that makes it even better in Dean's opinion.

"Dean," Castiel breathes, and then he tenses, holding his breath for a moment. Dean can see all those emotions written on his face, and he adores it. It's pure perfection, and there's no way that Dean is going to let anybody take this away. As he can feel Castiel relax again, he continues to move.

With a small soft kiss on Castiel's lips, Dean finally tumbles over the edge as well. A deep breath escapes his mouth, and finally a little moan escapes a well.

After they untangle, they remain on the bed next to each other, eyes still locked. And this is it. This is the moment where Dean realizes he's fallen in love.

There's a small wave of panic going through him, but above that there's a bigger feeling of relief.

And before they know, they've fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>When Dean wakes up, it's with the loud noises coming from outside.<p>

At first he thinks it's a dream, another one of those adventures he hopes to have with Impala one day when he's older, but then somebody tries to shake him awake,

"Dean!" that somebody shouts, and Dean's eyes fly open. He sits up with a jolt, looking around in search for the danger. Castiel's already getting dressed in haste as he runs to the opening of the cave, his staff in his hands.

"What's going on?" Dean asks as he quickly puts his pants on. Somehow, with all the commotion outside, he thinks it's best to put on the entire flight suit. As fast as he can he puts it on piece by piece, attaching every part while walking out of the cave.

Castiel is nowhere to be found when Dean gets outside, which worries him a little bit. Impala is pacing around nervously, and at the sight of Dean she runs to him, urging him to climb on. Dean recognizes that look. **We need to get out of here**, it says.

"We can't just leave girl," Dean says, petting her head as they prepare to take flight. Dean can spot Enoch's wings in the background, and he urges Impala to go to him.

As they fly they get passed by tons of other Dragons. They're all nervous, and somehow it looks like they're attacking each other. When Dean takes a closer look, it looks like, yes, they're indeed in some sort of battle.

But why would the Dragons turn against each other?

"Cas? What's happening?" Dean asks as soon as they reached the other two. Castiel is dressed the same way he was when they first met, with the creepy mask included. It makes him look menacing, certainly with that big staff added to it.

"Metatron is here to take the Dragons again, and he's succeeding," Castiel says desperately as he sees that his signs of protests are being ignored. "Somehow he's managed to get the Dragons to attack each other! Like he's in control of them!"

Dean looks around, only to see more Dragons appear at the opening above, this time with riders flying with them. That could be a problem, Dean thinks as he and Impala fly their way and he puts his mask on as well to protect himself from possible flames.

Impala manages to shoot a few riders from their Dragons, and Dean doesn't really want to think about what will happen to them. It's better not to ask those questions.

When Impala turns to go to a group of other Dragons, Dean suddenly takes in the Hideout he's been living in this last week. Trees are burning, rocks are falling. Everything is slowly being destroyed, and it only now sinks in that they can't do anything to save the place with just the two of them.

Dean can see how Castiel is throwing off rider after rider with his staff. His movements are obviously furious, and if this wasn't a serious matter at the moment, Dean would actually kind of be aroused.

All their fighting turns pointless when suddenly the mountains break. Impala flees away when pieces of rock fly their way. Dean starts to have trouble breathing in panic, because something that is able to break a mountain must be one hell of a giant Dragon.

Somehow nothing emerges from the clouds of dust except another Dragon and its rider. This Dragon is maybe a little larger than the others, but obviously not strong enough to cause this kind of damage.

The rider above the Dragon seems to carry a staff as well, rotating it around and around while screaming it out. Dean can't really make out this guy because he's too far away, but he can already guess who this is.

"Metatron," Castiel hisses next to him as Enoch flies towards them. Then they engage in an attack, leaving Dean and Impala behind and racing to the lunatic commanding the Dragons.

"Cas!" Dean shouts after him, but Castiel doesn't listen. Then Dean turns to Impala again. "Come up, girl, he needs our help," Dean says as they follow.

Castiel is charging for Metatron, preparing his staff to throw the man off. His face is still hidden behind that hideous mask, and he literally looks wild. This part of Castiel almost scares Dean.

**Damn, it's getting hard to breathe**, Dean thinks. The dust from the broken mountain is still hanging thickly in the air, and all around them the whole forest is now burning.

Metatron unmounts his Dragon when he reaches a safe spot on the cliff, and as soon as he's on the ground, Castiel is getting ready to attack. Enoch is moving in closer and closer, until suddenly, he evades, crashing painfully on the ground and tossing Castiel from his back. Dean doesn't know how this Metatron did it; he only waved his hand lightly and Enoch flipped. When Dean and Impala land, Dean hurries to Castiel, who is groaning painfully, being crushed underneath Enoch's unconscious body.

When Dean and Impala land, Dean hurries to Castiel, who is groaning painfully, being crushed underneath Enoch's unconscious body.

"Cas!" Dean shouts, helping Castiel out from underneath the Dragon. Castiel's mask is broken, and Dean takes it off. When he sees Castiel's face, he notices a large cut on his forehead.

Dean is so focused on helping Castiel that he's actually forgotten that Metatron is behind him, so when he's suddenly tossed aside, he shouts in panic. Dean lands with his side on a pointy rock. The impact brings him a big wave of pain on his hips, and he groans as he just lays there.

"Ah, the little wayward Viking," Metatron says with a whiny voice. Dean looks up for a moment to take in the guy's appearance, only seeing how ordinary and peaceful he actually looks. He has greasy curled hair that starts high above his forehead, a short and messy beard and kind of a pouty mouth as he speaks. He's dressed in usual Viking clothing, nothing out of the ordinary, and carries a large cape around his neck. Somehow it's like he tries to look menacing, but if Dean didn't know better he wouldn't have bought the act. Metatron is probably even smaller than Castiel, so he's not really that intimidating if it's just from is looks.

"How- how did you find us," Castiel grits out as Metatron gets closer to him. When Dean tries to get up and attack him – while ignoring his pain – he's being blocked by Metatron's bigger Dragon. Despite that, Impala jumps in front of him as well and hisses at the Dragon, getting in a defensive position. The two beasts hiss at each other, but they don't bite. It seems more like they're challenging each other.

"Oh, the things you can learn when you're on the back of a Dragon," Metatron says proudly, shooting his giant Dragon a glance. "His name's Gadreel, he used to live here once until I captured him. Don't worry, when he bites, you won't be alive long enough to even feel it."

"That's reassuring," Dean mutters, and Metatron laughs at his words before turning his head back to Castiel.

"Looks like I win this time, **Castiel**," he bites, looking far too proud for Dean's liking. He points the sharp edge of his staff against Castiel's scar on his throat and eyes him carefully. "Look at you, so helpless. It takes me great pleasure to see you like this, boy."

Then Enoch suddenly jumps back upright and charges against Metatron, throwing him out of his balance. Castiel scrabbles up, leaning against his Dragon and catching his breath. Enoch is growling as he stands in front of the man, shielding Castiel away from him.

The next thing they know, Metatron jumps back, mounting on Gadreel's back in one smooth motion, and they fly away. Dean and Castiel both watch him disappear back up. With part of the mountain gone, the little round opening in the trees above has grown larger, and all the Dragons that are present start to follow Metatron and Gadreel.

Which means…

"No!" Dean shouts as he throws himself on Impala's face, pressing his hands against the Dragon's ear to keep him from listening. When Castiel catches on, he goes to do the same thing.

Only it's too late.

Enoch's big black pupils are now two terrifying thin lines. He stands stiffly, not showing any sign of recognition at Castiel, and his ears seem to tremble somehow. Despite the fire, the temperature seems to have lowered a few degrees, causing Dean to shiver when he watches the two helplessly.

"Enoch, please no!" Castiel shouts, and then he starts talking in the Dragon language, obviously pleading for him to return. Enoch starts to take a few steps forward in Castiel's direction, but he's going slowly. Castiel continues to plea for him, to beg, but it's no use.

When Enoch flies away, it's with such a force that Castiel is thrown back against a rock. And for a while he remains there.

* * *

><p>They come to realize quickly that their familiar Hideout doesn't exist anymore. The fire has diminished a little bit, but every tree has burned to the ground. Where the nests have been now lay massive blocks of the broken mountain. The waterfalls are destroyed. The inhabitants are gone. There's no more life here. Even the lake has been covered with pieces of the mountain.<p>

Dean finds Castiel at the remains of his little cave. The inside is actually still intact, but suddenly it doesn't seem to feel like home anymore.

Castiel mourns in silence, holding his old little Dragon plush and pressing it against his chest. His eyes just look into nothingness, barely blinking as he stands there.

When Dean puts a hand on Castiel's shoulder, he's suddenly pressed against the walls of the cave with a hand tight against his throat. Dean keeps his hands up in defeat, showing Castiel that he means no harm. When Castiel lets go, Dean doesn't make his gasp of breath obvious.

And then Castiel presses his face against Dean's chest, and he cries.

* * *

><p>They leave the hideout around noon. It doesn't take long for them to pack in all Castiel's belongings – he doesn't have many anyway. His childhood toy is added in Dean's back, along with the few extra pieces of clothing he has for the cold seasons. He adds a few of his small knives, but other than that he takes nothing with him.<p>

Dean helps Castiel climb up on Impala's back, ignoring the pain in his hip when Castiel holds him. For a small moment he rests his fingertips on Castiel's hands to reassure him that it'll be all right. Castiel doesn't react other than pressing his face against the back of Dean's head.

After one last look at the hideout, Impala takes off, getting out the same way the other Dragons did. They don't speak as she takes the familiar route back to Jacht, flying high up in the clouds where they remain unseen by any possible sailors.

It takes about half an hour until they get where they're supposed to be, and strangely it feels like a relief to see Jacht still standing. For a moment the thought of Metatron attacking his tribe has plagued his mind, but now he's reassured that his people are safe.

He lands right in front of his house, earning him some surprised looks from the villagers.

"Dean's back!" one shouts, and son everybody surrounds them. Normally he doesn't get such a warm welcome, but Dean knows that they're all just curious about the other boy he brought along. Hesitantly, they both unmounts from Impala. Dean takes the bags they packed before Castiel can remove them from the saddle, and throws one hand around his shoulder to steer him inside the house.

"Could somebody please get my father?" Dean asks when he gets to the door. A few of the villagers nod and they run off to the docks. Dean, Castiel and Impala walk in to the house, and to Dean's surprise the candles are lit. This would mean somebody is in the house.

"Sammy?!" Dean shouts out to Castiel's surprise, and a loud sound coms from upstairs in the bedrooms. There are muffled voices and then loud footsteps on the stairs.

"Dean?" Sam's voice asks then, and both boys turn around to look at Dean's little brother.

"Heya Sam," Dean says, trying to smile but failing miserably. Sam takes the last few steps of the stairs and then he walks up to Dean with a strange expression on his face.

Suddenly, his fist connects with Dean's cheek, and Dean falls backwards into Castiel's arms. Sam is literally fuming as Dean rubs his cheek, biting his lip while trying to ignore the pain.

"It's good to see you too, Sammy," he mutters. He gets out of Castiel's arms and turns to the boy he brought along. "This is my brother," he explains. Castiel only nods shortly, and Sam does the same. He crosses his arms and glares at his brother.

"Are you completely out of your mind, Dean?" Sam starts to yell. "I know you need to travel around all the time and all that jazz, but do you even understand what task awaits you in a few months? You don't just become chief, you need to earn it as well!"

"Yeah yeah, in case you didn't already know, I would be a terrible chief! You would be a much more obvious choice, so why would dad even bother?" Dean counters dismissively. He doesn't really want to have this conversation right now because they're wasting time. Metatron could be anywhere and they need to find him.

"Because it's your birthright, Dean. You need to grow up and accept that!" Sam adds, then resting his eyes on Castiel again and frowning. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

Cas opens his mouth to introduce himself, but Dean cuts him right to it.

"Remember that kid I asked about at dinner a while back? It's him," Dean answers dryly, walking to the big wooden chair and sitting down to wait for his father.

They tell Sam the story of how exactly they met, without adding the details about what they've been doing this last week. Castiel and Sam seem to get along quite well, but it's obvious that Cas wants to go and find Metatron again.

After a little while, John returns to the house, slamming the door open. He's breathing hard, obviously has been running to here. He's followed by Bobby, Jo and Charlie, and they all look the same way Sam did. Furious, in other words.

"Dean Winchester you are the most irresponsible person I've ever met in my entire life!" John shouts as he storms inside, walking straight up to Dean and taking both his arms. "Do you even realize what panic you've caused in here?!"

He's shaking Dean while shouting, and Dean can already feel dizzy from the sudden commotion. John only lets go when Bobby calls out his name softly.

"John, let him explain himself," he suggests, and finally John lets go of Dean. Everybody is now looking at him.

"Okay, so I found a boy in the woods and as it was the week where the Dragons go away I went along with Impala because she has this kind of thing for his Dragon and they're actually kind of an item now and Cas and I are actually getting along really good and he's the son of Michael and then this morning we were attacked by this crazy man who just stole all of the Dragons and I was right on time to hold Impala back but Cas's Dragon is gone now and so are all of yours actually because this guy took them with him and we need to safe them!" he blurts out in one breath, earning him confused expressions from everybody in the room, including Castiel who just stands there uncomfortably. He then puts a hand on Dean's shoulder and walks forward.

"My home has been destroyed, and all the Dragons I've been fighting to keep free have been captured. Metatron is getting stronger by the minute and we need to stop him before it's too late," he elaborates. Sam makes a thinking face and looks at Bobby for a moment, who just shakes his head.

"Have **any** Dragons returned so far except for Impala?" John asks when the information finally has sunk in.

"Maybe a few, but not a lot. They're taking a lot longer than last year to get back here," Charlie answers with a worried tone. John nods as he turns around again, getting back to the door. At the last minute he looks back at Dean.

"You and I are not finished yet," he practically growls, and Dean swallows as he understands that, yes indeed, a lot more words need to be said between them.

John starts a whole town meeting to brief them on the situation. Dean and Castiel have to explain everything that happened once again, and then they're just standing there to listen to possible plans.

"Metatron is **insane**!" Bobby starts. "We cast him out all those years ago because he was hungry for power and tried to get it the wrong way."

"Well it looks like he hasn't changed much," John says as he's playing around with his knife. The meeting continues like that, but suddenly somebody taps Castiel on the shoulder. The two boys turn to look at the person, and they find Michael.

Michael still looks pretty much the same, but there's this kind of light that is now shining in his eyes. This is the face of a man who finds his son back after sixteen years.

They just look at each other for a while, but then Michael wraps his arms around Castiel, holding him close as he hugs his son for the first time since he disappeared. Dean turns his gaze away out of respect for the two. When they decide to get out of the great hall, they warn Dean before they go, leaving Dean behind with Sam, Charlie, Jo and Benny.

The Vikings come to the realization soon that they have nothing to defend themselves against thousands of Dragons. They have ships, yes, but they barely survived fifty of them during the attacks all those years back. The suggestions start to go around that they should collaborate with the other tribes, but nobody really wants to ask for help from the Demonic Tribe – they're all crazy!

When Castiel and Michael finally return, they've come nothing further with the plan. The younger Vikings decide to get back out and wait for their Dragons, but Dean knows that the Dragons that migrated from here to the hideout are now gone as well.

But then Castiel suddenly starts speaking.

"Metatron has something that controls the Dragons," he says as he walks forwards. The people make place for him to walk by, and then he's standing right next to the chief. "I've seen this object when he was attacking me this morning, and I only just placed it now. It's called a Dragon's eye."

A few murmurs start from the crowd, but nobody speaks up. Castiel kind of looks a little bit uncomfortable up there. He's fumbling with his furred gloves, and bites his lips during the silent moments. Dean comes to join him, and stands still at his side. Castiel shoots him a thankful smile.

"Every nest has its Queen, and Dean already told me how he defeated one of those in the past. There's one Dragon that's bigger than the Queen, and it's the Alpha Dragon.

"The Alpha Dragon has the ability to control every Dragon's mind in range – which is a very large range. Every Alpha has a Dragon's Eye they guard. It's like their soul or something. When a human steals this, the Alpha is controlled by the human who possesses this stone."

"So, whoever controls the Alpha controls them all?" John asks, and Castiel nods.

"Destroying the stone would destroy the Alpha," Castiel adds, and Dean understands that Castiel absolutely doesn't want the Alpha to be killed. He can understand that.

"So we steal the stone and get our Dragons back, is that it?" Bobby asks, and man that sounds simple. Castiel only shrugs. Then all the villagers share one more silent look before John seems to come to a conclusion.

"Gather all the present Dragons with their riders. A few of them will go in search for Metatron, stay above the clouds and try not to be seen. The others will prepare for battle. Ready the ships, sharpen the swords. We are at war."

Impala is already waiting outside when they all come out. Charlie is asking question after question, and Castiel is answering them all truthfully. Sam and Jo remain quiet, and so does Benny. When he gets on Impala's back, he understands why.

"Your Dragons haven't come back, have they?" he asks, and the three of them shake their head in confirmation. Charlie whistles loudly, and her Changewing Dorothy suddenly appears next to her. She scratches it under the chin for a moment, but tries not to look too happy about her presence.

Castiel comes to join Dean on Impala's back, and he wraps his arms around his waist again. The other teens don't say a word about it, for which Dean is grateful for. They come to a compromise that Sam would join Charlie on Dorothy's back, and the others would join on the ships. Dean leans back against Castiel and he receives a short kiss on his cheek in return. They don't even care about being seen by the others, because they might as well die pretty soon.

When Dean catches Charlie's stare, he finds her smirking at him with a raised eyebrow. Sam seems oblivious about it. Nobody talks as Dean takes Castiel's hand in his own and squeezes the fingers a little bit.

They are instructed by John to join the search-team. Charlie gets Dorothy to fly to the checkpoint immediately, but John stops Dean before he can leave. Dean swallows one more time before he meets his father's stare.

"Son, before you go," he starts, and then he stops, unable to continue.

"I know dad, I'm sorry I took off like that. When we return I will take the position of being the next chief more seriously," he assures his father, and John nods with something that almost looks like a smile.

"Remember, Dean, take…" he starts, and Dean sighs as he continues the sentence for him.

"Take care of Sammy, I know," he says, rolling his eyes and faking a laugh.

"No, Dean, take care of yourself," he corrects, putting a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezing the muscle reassuringly before turning away. Dean finds himself speechless a hearing his father's words. For all these years it has been 'take care of Sammy, don't let anything happen to Sammy' that the words 'take care of yourself' don't quite get through Dean's head.

"Dean, let's go please," Castiel whispers in his ear, with his chin resting on Dean's shoulder. Dean snaps out of it, and nods.

"Of course, let's go get our Dragons back," he says, petting Impala and then taking off as well.

* * *

><p>"So how did you know all that stuff about Alpha's?" Dean asks, though he can almost guess the answer. Castiel holds on tight to Dean and keeps his mouth right next to his ear.<p>

"An Alpha resided at the Hideout for many years. As I'm able to communicate with Dragon's he explained to me what the deal was about the Dragon's eye," Castiel answers.

"Well, if the Eye is such a weakness, why make one in the first place?"

"Because they have to. The eye is what gives them control over the other Dragons as well. Without the Eye he would just be a giant Dragon. Everybody needs a leader to look up to, and the Alpha at the hideout was our leader until he decided to move on. After that I kind of took over the role."

"So you're the Chief of the Dragons?" Dean asks suddenly in surprise as they take one more little dive under the clouds, only to find more open sea. They rise back up and fly straight ahead again.

"Well, I was until this morning, yes," Castiel answers. Then they remain silent for a little while. The sun is already setting and soon it will be too dark to see anything. They take about three more dives until Dean starts talking again.

"So what was that Alpha's name?" he asks. It takes a little while for Castiel to answer as he was thinking back.

"Lucifer," he then finally answers.

* * *

><p>Dean has grown up by playing by the rules. Everything his father said, he always followed. It's the way he's always lived up until he met Impala.<p>

It could be kind of safe to say that Impala has been bad influence on him in some way, but in the end his sudden defiance has always worked for the better with him.

They find the Outcast Islands around morning – having searched all night long. The island is empty except from a few Outcasts walking around, and the boats are ported at the docks they've made for themselves. In the air thousands of Dragons are flying around, obviously waiting for orders Dean figures. They remain in the clouds for a little moment.

"Dean, we must return to your father and update him on Metatron's whereabouts," Castiel urges, but then Dean spots Enoch flying right next to this Gadreel Dragon from the day before.

He knows Castiel sees him too when the grip around him gets stronger. Castiel takes a deep breath to hold down his anger, but Dean knows he's practically dying inside from seeing his Dragon like that.

On the ground they can see a few of the Outcasts walking together, gathering up and obviously discussing something. Metatron and this Alpha Dragon are nowhere to be found, which is actually weird. How could one hide a Dragon that is supposedly as big as a mountain?

Sam and Charlie join them after a little while. They've been right behind them all the time, and it has been some relief for Dean to know that his brother is close.

"Charlie, Sammy, you get back to Jacht to update my father, tell them we'll be on that island" Dean instructs while pointing at the island next to the Outcasts. The teenagers nod and turn back around to get to Jacht. Despite the many hours they've spent on finding this place, it isn't that far from Jacht; maybe two or three hours. It only took them so long because they've been going the wrong way all the time.

"What are we going to do?" Castiel asks in Dean's ear.

"We need to get closer, infiltrate in their base and get closer to the Eye, but we need Impala to stay out of the reach of the Alpha's range as well," Dean says as he thinks out loud. He taps his finger against his chin as he thinks about it some more. "Man, I should have given you a flight suit as well before we left, we could have glided down there together."

"We'll figure out something else," Castiel says. "First we need to find some ground quickly, we haven't slept since the attack and if we go on any longer Impala might fall asleep on the spot."

So they drop down on the abandoned island Dean mentioned before, and they find themselves an abandoned cave. It's obviously the home of one of those Dragons flying in the crowd, and they might be safe in here for a little while.

They rest down their head for a moment. Impala falls asleep quickly, softly snoring away her tiredness. Castiel and Dean remain next to each other, staring at the ceiling of the cave. Their hands are touching lightly, but neither of them are starting anything more than that. Dean realizes that he as well is extremely tired. Four hours of sleep might have been enough in the past, but Dean knows that he needs more of that now. Sadly, he doesn't have a choice.

They fall asleep together, fingers entwined in each other and facing each other.

* * *

><p>It's about early noon when Impala wakes Dean and Castiel up. When the three get outside, they can see that Jacht's ships have already lowered Anker at the beach, and everybody is preparing weapons for the attack.<p>

John is talking to Bobby and Rufus, trying to figure out a way to infiltrate the Outcasts easily. Dean joins in by standing next to his father, pulling Castiel along with him.

"We can go undercover," Dean offers. "We'll row to the island from behind, we'll grab some of the guards at the outer posts and we'll put on their…"

"No, son, you've been in enough danger already," John interrupts. "The plan might work, but we'll send some other people to do it."

"No dad, Cas needs to do it," Dean counters. "He's kind of the Chief of the Dragons, and…"

"Enough, son. You two have seen enough already, we'll send Andy and Gordon instead."

And Dean knows that's John's final word about it. The men turn back to each other to work out that plan further, but Dean can't just let it end here.

He shoots one single look at Castiel, and he can see that the boy has the very same thought. They both step away from the men, willing Impala to follow them, and then they return to the little rowboats on the beach.

With the help of Impala they pull the boat all the way to the other side of the island. They check the weaponry that is already present in the boat, and find a sword, a bow and arrows and two sharp knives.

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice suddenly asks from behind them, and the two turn around to see Sam standing there with his arms crossed.

"We need Cas to get his title as Chief of Dragons back, Sammy," Dean explains, dropping down the weapons again. Castiel presses his hand on Dean's chest as he walks forward.

"I need to be the one who saves them, Sam. They trust me," he explains. He keeps his hand on Dean's chest for a while before taking another step towards Sam.

"And you think I would let you go without me?" Sam asks, dropping his arms and getting to the boat. When he passes Impala he scratches her chin lightly. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Dean and Castiel share each other one more look before they agree that he can come along, and they get into the little boat. They row in silence, taking turns, and after another hour they arrive at the beach from the Outcast Island. By now the tribe must realize they are missing, so they're running out of time. If his father comes to look for him, everything could go wrong.

They pull the rowboat all the way to the land, and throw loose branches of a tree on it to hide it away. They take out the sword for Dean, the knives for Castiel and the bow and arrows for Sam, and then they start walking.

"Okay, Sammy, first a rule though," Dean starts while they pass by tree by tree. "At the first sign of trouble, you get the hell out of here, understood?"

Sam only rolls his eyes, and after humming a soft agreement he ignores his brother completely.

The voyage through the forest makes it clear that they could have used many more hours of sleep, but they can't stop now.

They get to the first Outcast after half an hour of walking. The man was dozing off against a tree, so it was no problem at all to sneak up behind him and knock him out. They then try to figure out who should wear the uniform, but then decide that it's too large for Castiel and Sam. When Dean puts on the layers of animal skin and the helmet all the other Outcasts are wearing, they continue their voyage. The Outcast they've knocked out is now safely tied up against the tree he was sleeping against.

They get to the second guard after another fifteen minutes. This time it's a little more difficult to get his attention, and Dean has to actually start talking to this guy so Castiel could sneak up on him. The guard is fooled by Dean's disguise, which is a big relief.

When Castiel knocks the man on his head with the heft of his knife, the man slumps down on Dean's feet, and they carry the man off against another tree. After he's tied up as well, and Castiel is in the uniform, they walk again.

With the third guard they pretend to have taken Sam as a prisoner, and are escorting him in jail. The man stops them to inspect Sam – the creep – and then Sam frees his hands and knocks his fist against the man's face. The man drops down immediately, and they repeat the procedure again.

The first outpost is actually quite easy to get through. The other Outcasts that walk around there don't even offer them a second glance. Two of them are having a contest to see who can spit the furthest. A few others are lying against a tree to sleep as well. When they pass one of them, they finally get stopped.

"You three, find Virgil and Ion, and tell to get their asses here immediately, you're taking their places" the man says, pushing Dean forward towards the forest.

"Eh, where do I find them exactly?" Dean asks hesitantly, and the man rolls his eyes.

"You morons didn't listen earlier? They're with Metatron in the weaponry, but they should have been back by now, those bunch of idiots."

Dean nods and tries to get moving again, but then the man stops him again. This time, though, he's looking at Castiel.

"What's with the tattoo, angel-face?" he asks suspiciously, eyeing Castiel's marking on the right side of his face. Dean starts to panic when he realizes he has no story ready, but obviously Castiel has less trouble with it.

"Oh, one of those ink-Dragons hit me with its tail and now it won't come off," he explains calmly, successfully hiding his Dragonese accent in his voice. The man still raises an eyebrow while he thinks about it, but then he starts laughing.

"Ah, man you're all just bloody worthless idiots!" he shouts, turning his back to the three of them and walking up to some other guards. When the man starts to shout at them, the three get on in the forest, but the deeper in they go, the more the trees seem to be burned. In the end, the ground is completely covered with ashes, and the few remaining trees are scarred.

The building they come to turns out to be one big arena – kind of like the one they have back on Jacht. Dean shoots one glance at Sam, and both recall the times where they were supposed to kill Dragons in an arena like this one. How things have changed…

Getting inside the arena is quite easy to be honest. Nobody even offers them a second glance as they go on about their business. It's obvious they don't expect any ambushes; why would they? They're literally so strong that even this mission is a suicide-mission. Castiel walks up front since he's the only one who can really say what Metatron looks like. Sam walks between him and Dean – Dean chose that formation on purpose so they could act as a shield for his little brother

The search for the weapons-room takes longer than anticipated. The doors are not named, and more often than not they enter a room where they're obviously not allowed – and adding to that that there are images they both want to just erase.

Too long it takes for them to find the weaponry, and when they finally do it appears they're too late; whoever was supposed to be inside is now long gone.

"Damnit!" Dean curses as he slams his hand against the wall. Sam remains quiet, and Castiel looks around, inspecting the weapons they have. Dean notices that these are not for the Outcasts themselves, but that these are meant to be attached to the Dragon's saddles. They're extensions; A catapult, a flamethrower for when the Dragon's reach their shot limits. It's all there. There are even armors in various shapes and sizes.

"Man, they're prepared," Dean mutters and both boys agree to it.

They decide that they should move on, continue their search for Metatron. They put everything back the way they found it, and get out, back in the hallway.

During the time that they've been in that room some sort of commotion has started; Outcasts are running around, shouting orders and pushing others aside. Dean pushes Castiel and Sam back against the wall when one comes to push forward a chariot filled with armors like the ones they saw inside.

"What are you two doing there? Get your asses outside as fast as you can!" one redheaded woman shouts, and the three shoot right into action, running the same way the other Outcasts are. The hallway somehow seems endless as they run forward, but eventually they do reach an opening.

They appear to end up right on the beach they saw before. The ships are being prepared for travel, and most of the Dragons are on the ground now, being mounted by their riders.

"What the…" Dean starts as he looks up to see Metatron on Gadreels back. The man is just looking with some sort of smug face Dean can't completely place. It's true that he's insane, because he's the craziest person Dean's ever met.

"Metatron," Castiel hisses, and he balls his fists. Dean holds out his hand in front of him to hold him back.

"Not now, we'll attract too much attention," Dean says. "We need to get him on the ground and confront him there."

Castiel nods in agreement, despite his unwillingness to leave Metatron much longer. They look around for a moment to see where they're supposed to go, and then march forward the riders. If they could get on the back of one of those Dragons, they would have a big advantage.

It all goes to Hell when one of the Outcasts smashes against Castiel. The boy gets pushed back on the ground, and the helmet that covers his face falls on the ground, leaving Castiel undisguised.

Castiel looks up at the man with horror on his face, eyes open wide and mouth fallen open. Dean can feel his heart stop as the Outcast stares Castiel down.

**Please don't recognize him, please don't recognize him…** Dean thinks, because this Outcast could be as dumb as a tree.

Sadly, luck is not on their side.

"You're that Dragon kid!" The man shouts, and he grabs Castiel by the collar of his shirt and pulls him up in the air. The man gets out a nasty laugh that makes everybody uncomfortable. Castiel tries to scratch the man's hand away in an attempt to escape, but the man doesn't flinch. Instead he turns towards Metatron and shouts for his attention. Dean can only stand there and watch. He wants to act now, to rescue Castiel, but he can't without revealing himself and Sam. Besides, he wouldn't be any help as a prisoner.

So Dean just stays where he is as they take Castiel to Metatron, and now he needs to get a plan to rescue Castiel as well.

* * *

><p>Sam and Dean are finding themselves back in the now-empty hallways of the arena. Castiel is with Metatron, the Dragons are still under his control and the other Vikings have no idea they're here.<p>

Making a plan isn't the easiest thing to do in a place they're unfamiliar with. They don't know why the Outcasts are preparing for battle, they don't know where they've taken Castiel, and the Vikings of Jacht could be getting closer any minute now.

"Dean, maybe we should just wait for dad to join us? You said they had the same plan as you did?" Sam tries, but the moment he says it he seems to know that they're out of time.

"We need to get close to Metatron. We need to snatch that eye, and then we need to make sure Castiel gets it," Dean summarizes. It sounds easy enough, but there's no way they could get close enough to Metatron. They could try the Dragons still, but who knew if a Dragon would attack the person they're controlled by. And not to mention that big-ass Dragon that destroyed the Hideout.

"Dean, for now, any plan we have is a good plan, so if you want to go after Metatron, we should," Sam offers, and honestly, it's indeed the best thing they've got. Dean nods silently, shooting one look at Sam and sharing eye contact for a moment.

"Be careful, Sammy," Dean pleads and Sam nods. Then they get back outside to the beach, which is now a little calmer. The Dragons are back in the air, but they hover where they are. Dean can't spot Gadreel though, so that means that Metatron is still on the ground.

Finding Metatron takes them a few minutes, since Gadreel is hard to miss. The big Dragon sits down patiently as the humans in front of him talk. Dean can spot Castiel on the ground with Metatron's hand on his throat.

"What do you think you're doing?" somebody asks angrily, and Dean and Sam both freeze. If it were any other person, they would have attacked first and checked who it was later, but they both know that voice.

"Dad!" they both call out, jumping back as they turn around and find their father, Bobby and Rufus standing there, dressed up in Outcast-uniforms as well.

"I think I remember saying that I didn't want you to do this mission, Dean," John says, crossing his arms and glaring at his oldest son. Dean looks down for a moment.

"Dad, you just don't understand. It's essential that Cas is the one who steals the Eye," Dean starts to explain, but as usual, his father doesn't listen. The man walks past him and looks over at the Outcasts further back.

"We have a clear view on Metatron," he says to Bobby and Rufus, and the two just give Dean an apologetic look before they get next to John.

"Dad," Dean tries again, only to be ignored by his father.

"If we create some sort of diversion maybe we could sneak up on him and take him out like that?" his father continues, and the adults continue to bring up ideas. Dean rolls his eyes at Sam, who shrugs in return. Then he nods sideways as an indication that they need to get out of there.

"Don't you dare, lads," Rufus grumbles from behind, stopping Dean and Sam in their tracks. The two sigh loudly as they're called back to the three.

It takes a while for them to figure out a plan, but when it's finished Dean is more than ready to participate. He glances one last look at Castiel's direction, only to see Metatron walking around, probably doing monologue – which he apparently does a lot according to the Vikings of Jacht.

"Boys, you two stay here until this all is over," John says as he stands up, preparing to start the diversion they've talked about. It sounds simple to be honest; Bobby and Rufus start a commotion that would lead the other Outcasts away from Metatron and Castiel, and then John would take him out.

"Dad, you know well enough that there's no way for me to stay up here when Cas is in danger," Dean counters, raising an eyebrow at his father. John sighs loudly as he stands up, walking straight to Dean.

"It's too dangerous, Dean, and it's not worth losing both the chief and the heirs at the same time. You're the future of Jacht, and I don't want to see you get hurt." He puts a hand on Dean's shoulder, which feels weird to him. Sam gets the other hand on his shoulder as well, and the father then pulls his sons in a strong hug.

"Your mother would be proud of you two," he whispers, but then he eventually has to pull free and go on with the plan. Dean and Sam somehow remain where they are as the men walk out, John going to the left and Bobby and Rufus turning to the right instead.

Dean and Sam crouch down where they have the best view of Metatron. The man is still talking, with his hands signaling things to a Dragon that seems to have dropped down when they weren't looking. It's a Yellow Demon, if Dean recalls correctly. This very type of Dragon killed their mother years ago.

Sam seems to have made the connection as well – even though he was too young to remember it correctly.

Whatever Metatron signals to the yellow Dragon, the beast seems to listen. It starts to walk forward in Castiel's direction, taking a hostile position as it gets closer.

"Come on," Dean mutters when he sees that the diversion has not yet begun. They really need to hurry up, because Cas is out of time. The Dragon takes one step at the time, making elegant movements and growls Dean can here even from up here.

An explosion to his right makes everybody look up in surprise. The Dragon stops immediately and raises its head in the opposite direction, as if it hears something.

"Oh no," Sam breathes out, and Dean realizes then as well what exactly it means.

Their father didn't see the Demon arrive. He has no idea the Dragon is even there.

The two start to run as fast as they can. Maybe they can still reach it on time. There's no sound of any Dragon attacking, nor are there any screams, so he should be safe, right?

When they get down there, hidden behind the bushes and trees, Dean stops a little too abruptly. Sam is taken by surprise and runs up against Dean, causing the older brother to trip forward, getting out of cover and ending up right there in the open.

He realizes this mistake too late.

Too many things then happen at once. Castiel shouts out his name in surprise, throwing himself to the ground and out of Metatron's grasp. Then he kicks at Metatron's leg, causing the man to fall over. The Demon prepares to take a shot, eyes boring into Dean as it's targeting him. His name gets called again, but this time from behind him, and that voice he recognizes as his father.

And when the Dragon shoots, somehow Dean's tossed aside and falling to the ground.

* * *

><p>John Winchester has always been a man with little patience. Ever since his wife died all those years ago, he'd been focused on killing the Dragon that caused the disruption in the family. How, of course, the coincidence would exist that the exact same type of Dragon, and probably even the same Dragon given their lifes, has managed to kill off both Dean's parents, is a question that nobody can really answer.<p>

Dean finds his father lying on the ground, unmoving and lifeless. The Demon lies motionless as well with an arrow buried deep into its chest. When Dean turns to Sam, he can see his brother still holding out his bow in utter amazement.

Sam hurries out of the hiding as well after a few seconds of just staring ahead, reaching their father and checking in for any indication of a heartbeat. Too many long minutes go by, and Sam's lowering of shoulders is enough indication that the Chief, their father, has not survived the blow.

John has multiple burn wounds on his skin, and his clothing and armor are torched, but he could have survived that. The thing that killed their father is the impact his head made to the ground, probably breaking his neck.

"No!" Dean shouts next to his father. Somehow he's unable to create any tears, probably from the disbelief. This would be some kind of sick joke.

Dean is vaguely aware of his name being shouted from behind him, but somehow he can't focus on it. All he can think about is how his father is lying here, shot by a Dragon because he was trying to protect him.

It is all his fault…

"Dean! Let me take care of dad! You go help Cas!" Sam suddenly shouts from next to him, and Dean can see that his brother has tears in his eyes. Dean nods, and gets forward again where Castiel is holding out his knifes to protect himself against Metatron.

"Ah, the little Dragon Trainer comes to join us as well, then," Metatron says in a whiny voice. Dean breathes out deeply as he acknowledges his hate for the man.

"You are going down, mister," he bites as he approaches them, joining Castiel and taking out his sword to point it at Metatron. The man only laughs, though, and he goes to reach some red stone hanging around his neck.

**The Eye**, Dean realizes. And that's when the ground begins to shake.

Out of the sea, the waves suddenly start to rise, and from the water the head of a dragon emerges.

Soon, the whole beast appears from the ocean. It's literally the biggest creature Dean has ever seen in his life. The Dragon is white and has a pointy face. His eyes are gigantic and manage to make Dean feel uncomfortable in just the first second. On its forehead it has two large horns that appear to be chained to something.

**How would one even make chains big enough**? Dean wonders, looking back at Sam who just sits there in bewilderment.

"Lucifer," Castiel mutters, obviously recognizing the Dragon from before.

"Wait, **that's** Lucifer?! You could have told me how big this beast actually was for crying out loud!" Dean hisses at Castiel, who just rolls his eyes.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't really think about the size of Lucifer when my Dragon's been captured by Metatron!" Castiel bites back, earning them a low laugh from Metatron who now stands next to Gadreel.

"Oh, you two sound like an old married couple," he breathes out when he mounts Gadreel. The Dragon doesn't put up any fight, and its ears are now trembling as well – just like Enoch's did back at the Hideout after the attack.

"How about that, the very Dragon that killed your mother now killed dear old daddy as well," Metatron continues in his annoying voice. "How poetic would it have been if the whole Winchester bloodline had been killed by this Yellow Demon."

"Not as poetic as the stories they will tell later about how your head is going to end up on a plate," Dean counters, and, okay, not really his best comeback. Metatron chuckles and shakes his head.

"And think about this; the supposedly **Chief of Dragons**, killed off by the very Dragon he risked his life for to safe?"

Then Metatron holds up a sword, making large circles in the air. Lucifer's giant eyes spot his movements and follow the sword. When the point then goes from Enoch up in the air to Castiel, Lucifer keeps on staring.

For a little moment Dean hopes that Lucifer has found some will power to resist, but of course that's just wishful thinking. From above, Enoch dives down towards them. His pupils are still very small lines, and his ears are still trembling as it seems to listen to Lucifer's commands.

When Enoch touches down on the ground, he sits up proudly, wings folded back and awaiting his orders.

"You see, Gadreel here just wanted to prove himself after a little mistake cost the lifes of a few of his friends. How easy it was to manipulate him and make him follow me," Metatron starts again, sword stil pointing at Castiel. Lucifer still awaits his orders, as does Enoch. "Silly, though, how one little stone can give you complete control over a Dragon that's practically a mountain."

Castiel raises his hands at Enoch, making a few steps towards him. Enoch doesn't give him any sign of recognition. He just stares at Castiel with empty eyes. His feathers look ruffled from all the flying, and the tail Dean built for him looks dirty from the mud.

"Come on, Enoch, snap out of it," Castiel whispers at his Dragon. Dean doesn't remove his eyes from the sword, so he has no idea what Castiel is exactly doing behind him. "We save each other, right? I get you out, you get me out, remember?"

From the corner of his eyes, Dean can see movements in Sam's direction. Castiel is still trying to snap Enoch out of the control Lucifer has on him, and Dean waits for the right time to act.

That time is when Sam manages to shoot another arrow right into Metatron's chest. The man gasps loudly as his sword drops, and he lowers his head to look at the thing sticking out of his body.

Lucifer, though, takes the lowering of the sword as an indication for the attack, and Enoch catches on, growling at Castiel and baring his teeth.

"Dean! Hurry up before the Dragon kills Cas!" Sam shouts, preparing another arrow and pointing it at Metatron in case he would need to shoot him a second time.

Metatron's eyes look down disbelievingly, and he doesn't put on any fight as Dean snatches the necklace from his throat, making sure he doesn't touch the stone.

"Cas!" he shouts as he throws the thing at the boy. Castiel holds his hand out right on time to catch it, dropping to the ground when Enoch charges.

"**Ol Bolape Zomdv Bial."** Castiel says softly against the stone, pressing his lips against it.

Enoch stops immediately. Gadreel starts to shake to get Metatron off his back. The Dragons above them all start to roar and growl, flying away as soon as they can.

Lucifer keeps his eyes on Castiel, or rather on the stone in Castiel's hand. Castiel stands up, holding out the stone to present it to the Dragon.

Dean watches as Lucifer leans closer to Castiel and allows Castiel to press the Eye back in Lucifer's forehead – where it's strangely meant to fit. How did Metatron even manage to take that thing?

Lucifer doesn't need any orders to get out. He moves his incredibly large body away from them, reaching the boats of the Outcasts. After looking at it for a while, he shoots out flames to the ships and the Outcasts, but somehow these flames don't make it burn, but rather freeze. Castiel watches with an amused expression, and when Lucifer has gotten back into the water, he turns to Enoch, smiling when he can see the Dragon's happy face again.

"Oh, Enoch, you gave me such a scare!" Castiel shouts as he puts his hands at the sides of Enoch's face and presses their foreheads together.

Enoch just gives him a big lick on the face before pushing his face against his friend and snuggling closer. Castiel laughs for a moment, but soon quiets down again, turning to Dean and Sam.

All three of them kneel back down next to John's body, sending prayers to the Gods that his soul would be carried to where he's supposed to be. Sam rests his head on Dean's shoulder, and Castiel has Dean's knuckles pressed against his lips. Enoch snuggles right against him to comfort him, and the four of them are still like this when Bobby and Rufus find them.

* * *

><p>The sun has already set when the ship starts floating away.<p>

It's already pretty dark, the sea is calm, and every citizen of Jacht is present to pay their respects.

Children are clinging to their parents, pressing their faces against them so they wouldn't have to watch. Bobby prepares the fire, and when everybody has lightened up their arrow, Dean and Sam get in position, aiming up in the air. John's ship is already a little further away, and with the tears that are now building up in his eyes, Dean's afraid that he would miss the boat.

They shoot the arrow at the same time, letting it fly up in the sky before it comes down on the wood, both of the arrows succeeding in starting the flames inside the ship. Behind them, the other Vikings aim as well, sending their arrows in that very same direction. Some of them land on the ship as well. Others end up in the water.

There are some people crying as they watch the burning ship sail away. This is, of course, what every Viking wants, to be burned at sea.

"I'm sure your father was very proud of you, Dean," Castiel suddenly says from behind him, still holding his bow in his left hand. His right one rests on Dean's shoulder and Dean only just manages to hold back a sob.

"I don't know how I'm ever going to replace him as the chief, Cas," Dean whispers, not removing his eyes from the ship his father's body has been put in.

"You can do it," Castiel reassures him, walking closer and taking his hand in his own. "You have a lot of people around you who can help you to figure this out."

"But what if I won't be as good as he was?" Dean asks, finally turning to look at Castiel. The boy then puts his other hand – he must have dropped the bow down – on Dean's cheek.

"You don't have to **be** him. You can be inspired by him, you can follow in his footsteps, but in the end you still have to be **you**," Castiel offers as an answer, and he presses a soft kiss against Dean's lips. Then they just hold on to each other as everybody starts to walk away. Nobody comments on the two boys in the front. Sam doesn't either, and instead joins in on the hug, because he obviously needs it.

"We'll be all right," Dean promises his brother, and Sam nods.

* * *

><p>So in the end Dean ends up as the chief after all. After all those weeks of denying his birthright it is still pushed upon him due to his father's death.<p>

Dean has learned to accept it, though, because when he looks at the people who've come to cheer him on during the ceremony, he can only feel pride.

Ever since Lucifer has been freed, every Dragon has returned back to Berk. Impala and Enoch are both often flying around when Dean or Cas are both too busy. Sam's Dragon has reclaimed its rightful place in the house. All the villagers are eternally happy to be reunited with their Dragons, obviously spending more quality time with them since their return.

Jo likes to brag about how she singlehandedly defeated five Outcasts with just an axe, but Charlie always adds in a whisper to it that she helped.

The Academy is opened once more, and the students come and go as they go on to train their own Dragons. Castiel has even joined the teaching program to give lessons in **Dragonese**, as Dean still likes to call it.

Being a Chief has been tough on Dean in the first few days. He's far more busy than he's ever been, and every return to his house has ended with him diving into bed immediately.

Castiel has been living with the Winchesters from the beginning and no objections have been made about that so far. As it turns out nobody really cares that their Chief is together with another man. With the kind-of Chief from the Dragons, nonetheless.

Somehow, they manage to build up a good life again on Jacht. After the Winter Holidays the Dragons return with their babies as usual, and this time Impala and Enoch bring some little ones home as well. A few of them are black with feathers, a few white without feathers. They're the perfect mix and the whole village is in love with their cuteness.

Sam manages to find himself fallen in love with another girl at the Academy, and even Charlie comes in one day to admit her feeling for some girl called Gilda.

To keep it short, they all manage to find their happy place in Jacht once again. Two chiefs together, a perfectly-running Dragon Academy, and healthy Dragons.

What more could anyone really wish for?


End file.
